


The Snow Queen

by Milksapphire



Series: The Rise and Fall of The Greek Empire [2]
Category: Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Alternate Universe - Xena: Warrior Princess, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, F/F, F/M, Holy Roman Empire, Persian Empire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2018-10-12 00:35:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 52
Words: 315,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10478103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milksapphire/pseuds/Milksapphire
Summary: Sequel to The Lady of Shanghai: Xena takes Ares up on a dangerous yet irresistible offer to prevent her prophecy becoming a reality. When she begins to realize her empire is dying she will do anything to become the first Empress of Rome although many obstacles come her way. Eve soon comes to understand that there is more to being a ruler of an empire and decides to conquer and ally her mother's empire with Persia one last time in hopes to save everyone.





	1. Chapter 1

**AN: I said I would write a sequel and so I did. Probably a giant twist from the last story, obviously, but if you haven't read The Lady of Shanghai, you probably should as ties from the previous story are put into this one. I listed Discord as one of the characters, but I used her Latin name instead and changed her appearance.**

**Enjoy and feedback much appreciated!**

The Snow Queen

_Fifteen years later_

_Summary: Xena's Grecian Empire has lost the African countries she won from Octavius fifteen years ago through two longer battles in a span of six years. Octavius has expanded his Roman Empire to Assyria and Persia making an alliance with the new Persian King and colonizing Assyria with Allat as its King. Too many rulers among these lands and Xena's Empire is wedged in the middle of the conflict and territories. Octavius is at his peak meanwhile Xena is losing control of her Empire. Solan is now working with Allat in Assyria to push back the Roman elites and regain control of their land. Eve has taken initiative to spread her mother's empire to Eastern Asia in the territories of Qin and India and occasionally works with Qin's mercenaries in secret._

_While Xena senses that her prophecy may come true she wishes not to rule Greece for an extended period of time and decides to leave Athens and go settle her Empire in the land of the Pharaohs. Although, Xena has kept this vision that Ares showed her many years ago, to herself and did not even tell Gabrielle, keeping it locked away inside of her. As she ages she realizes that she will not live forever and is twice the age of Octavius. She fears that time is not on her side and soon her empire will fall to the Romans –her greatest enemy for over thirty five years._

_Gabrielle goes back and forth from Athens to Cairo to be with Xena and keep the fort down in Athens as well. Though, Gabrielle begins to notice a change in Xena. Even after all these years of being together, she still couldn't figure her out completely. She could be so secretive and though Xena had opened up about a lot of things over the years, she still remained locked away in her mind. Gabrielle began to think that Xena's worst enemy was her mind._

_She noticed that Xena was changing back into the person she used to be over two decades ago and she hadn't the slightest idea why._

_Chapter 1_

On Mount Parnassus the Greek Muses gather every afternoon to enjoy their festivities together and even invite a few Olympians to join in on all the fun. Erato, Muse of love, spooned some wine into Apollo's mouth and he relaxed comfortably underneath a canopy. A bright light appeared before all nine Muses and they gasped.

Terpsichore, Muse of song and dance, smiled at the Olympian God who appeared before them. She sauntered over to him and traced her fingers along his black vest. "Ares, God of War, what brings you to Mount Parnassus?"

Thalia, Muse of comedy, came to approach her sister and greet the War God. She smiled at him and took off her mask showcasing her beaming face. Ares rolled his eyes and brushed off the Muses. "Ladies, I'm looking for Erato. We have business to discuss," he eyed the love Muse placating his brother, Apollo, under a canopy, getting him very drunk. He marched over to her and she stood up grinning at him mischievously.

"Ares, I have what you want," she snapped her fingers and a blue vial appeared in her palm. He reached for it and she snatched it away wagging her finger. "Not so fast, dark and mysterious." Ares frowned, as he didn't really have time for this he folded his arms and raised a thick dark brow at the Muse. "you have to tell me what you're using this for. It could be dangerous, you know?" she smirked.

He sighed heavily, "I just need it. Do I have to explain anything to you? I'm a god!" he laughed loudly and Erato frowned circling him sensually.

"Yes indeed you are which makes me not trust you!" she pouted. "Does Aphrodite know you are using this?"

Ares blew in her face and sent her flying backwards about ten feet and she landed on top of Apollo. The sun god smiled and she kissed his cheek then stood up to face Ares again. "My sister does not need to know my business with you unless you want to die a horrible death?" he grinned.

Erato handed the vial to him reluctantly and frowned. "Fine! But if you must know, if you use this on a mortal it could end very badly if not used correctly."

He rolled his eyes, "use it sparingly, yadayada yeah I got it. Anything else I should know?" he folded his arms tucking the vial into his vest pocket.

The love Muse smiled and came within inches of the War God's face. "Yes..." she hissed, "it only works if the person is willing to use it. You can't force it on the person," she whispered.

Ares groaned and pushed her away. "You didn't tell me about that!" he yelled and Erato blinked, shocked at his tone.

She shrugged her shoulders, "you wanted it, Ares. Besides, I have never seen a mortal use that before, only immortals use it," she sighed, "well, if you don't mind I have some business of my own to fulfill!" she grinned and went back to Apollo under the canopy. Ares shook his head and soon disappeared leaving the Muse to attend to his rotten brother.

* * *

Ares beamed back into his Halls of War and took out the blue vial from his vest pocket examining it carefully. He unscrewed the cork and smelled the liquid within the bottle. It smelled like violets mixed with a hint of vanilla. Frowning he corked the bottle again and set it on his throne staring at it as if waiting for something magical to happen.

"so you finally had the balls to get it, huh?" a familiar feminine voice startled Ares and he groaned.

"Don't do that again, Eris," he demanded. He normally did not like unannounced guests coming into his temple but he rather liked Eris, Goddess of Chaos, she was something he had been waiting for.

The raven haired goddess floated around him and grabbed the vial. Ares tried to snatch it from her but she disappeared to the other side of the room. Her golden eyes narrowed with a devious smile. She held up the bottle into the light and tapped the glass with her long fingernails. The vial lifted out of her hands and floated high into the air as she admired its strange liquid inside.

"I can't believe you actually got it from...what's her name?" she grinned and laughed under her breath. "Oh that's right, Erato."

Ares marched over to the goddess and he snapped his fingers then the bottle appeared in his palm once more. "Why are you interested? It has no affect on us gods," he scoffed and opened a box placing the vial inside. Eris glided on the floor and leaned over her elder brother's shoulder as the box locked keeping the vial safe and sound.

Eris sat down on Ares throne and he rolled his eyes growing tired of this goddess' games and arrogance. She began twirling her fingers casually and a star from the night sky appeared in her fingers, spinning the star slowly. "So what mortal are you going to use that on?" she inquired and the star spun faster as Ares avoided the question. The raven haired beauty smiled evilly, "oh I know who. Xena...isn't she a little old to be your warrior queen?" she scoffed. "You need a new warrior queen, Ares. Someone younger, more vibrant, someone...fresh!"

Ares grabbed his sword and began swinging aimlessly in the air. "Oh someone like..you?" he laughed and Eris crushed the star in her palm. The star dust crumbled to the ground and she crossed one leg over the other, tapping her fingers on the armrests.

"Well we both know that'll never happen. Chaos and war? Those go together during a battle but for love? It just doesn't work," her golden eyes sparkled and Ares rolled his eyes. She sauntered over to the War God and traced her long fingernails on his arm, making him lose concentration. "Besides, I want someone better than Xena." She circled him with a sly smile. "How 'bout that daughter of hers? She's perfect. Spitting image of your old worn out warrior queen and she's very young." She whispered in his ear, "easy to manipulate..." she hissed. "Easy to mold..."

Ares shook his head and continued to sparing, "Eve is off limits, Eris."

Eris laughed audibly, "afraid your warrior woman will kill you if you go near her?" he didn't answer and she giggled. "Oh Ares. Just because you won't go near her doesn't mean that I won't..."

With that she exited the room with a hushed laugh as she disappeared into thin air. Ares growled and looked around still hearing her menacing laugh. "Eris!" he cursed to himself and threw his sword into the wall. "Damn I hate her," his eyes glanced over at the box and it was as if the bottle spoke to him. He trailed over to the box and opened it slowly. Lifting the vial out of the box he tilted the bottle watching the purple liquid sway side to side. He furrowed his brows as he continued to stare at it. He hadn't ever used this before on anyone and truthfully he had no idea how he was going to get Xena to agree to this plan of his.

* * *

Xena swung her sword around in midair inside her bedroom in the Egyptian fortress. She had completely redone Cleopatra's palace and made it her own. Keeping with the Greek-Egyptian theme she added a few touches from her homeland to keep her sane. She sliced the sheer red curtain in half and sweat droplets formed on her forehead.

She heard the door open and spun around with the sword pointed at the intruder. Gabrielle's eyes blinked and Xena breathed heavily as she saw her friend standing a few inches away from the blade. She realized that Gabrielle was the intruder and shook her head, lowering the blade.

"Are you alright? You've been acting strange for a few days now." Gabrielle said and sat on Xena's bed.

Xena paced around the room and put the sword on the wall away from harm's way. "Yes..." she walked towards the mirror and saw her reflection. A few wrinkles were now apparent around her blue eyes. Her hair was wrapped up in a tight bun with her bangs slicked back. "I am old, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle smirked, "people get older, Xena. It happens to everybody, even you," she teased.

Xena shook her head and looked away no longer wanting to stare at her aging face. Though to others, she looked just the same, maybe even wiser as she aged. "It's not that Gabrielle," she walked out onto the balcony and her blonde companion followed her, wrapping her arm around her friend. "I am too old for this..." she waved her hand at the city of Cairo before her. "I will never defeat Octavius and his Empire. "My Empire is dying and I'm...afraid."

Gabrielle frowned, sensing her friend's distress in her voice. Her quietness was most upsetting. Xena never doubted herself and always had a plan but it was obvious that she was tired. Her eyes showed it well. The fire in her eyes had gone and it was almost as if she were losing herself in the process. She squeezed Xena's arm and received no response of affection towards her.

"It's okay to feel afraid, Xena. Everyone feels fear some time in their life," Gabrielle reassured her.

Xena shook her head once more, "no Gabrielle, I am not afraid. I do not fear the loss of my empire. I do not even fear death," she smiled weakly. Gabrielle's eyes widened and she did not want to think of that. They still had so many years left and the thought of death or even losing Xena was not an option, at least not now.

"so what are you afraid of?" Gabrielle asked quietly.

Xena peered down at her blonde friend with a smirk, "losing myself." Her eyes glanced over at the grand city below her and sighed deeply.

Gabrielle understood that. Xena had been going and going for over two decades now and it was not likely that she'd stop, but she sensed some defeat in her friend. She feared for her that she'd give up just for the sake of not losing. Xena was a sore loser and that was not in her vocabulary.

"Sometimes..." she looked up at Xena as she continued to gaze off at the city. "We need to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves."

Xena wrapped her arms around herself as a gush of wind blew by them. She smirked, "and who told you that? Some great philosopher?" she teased.

Gabrielle smiled as her cheeks blushed, "you. You told me that." She left Xena's side and sat on her bed chuckling to herself. Xena turned and saw her amused friend. "When I was young and lost I told myself that I would never forgive you for what you did, but I did, remember? It was like you were a different person in those days, now I feel as if...you're becoming a different person for the third time, Xena..." she glanced up at her friend's confused expression.

She sighed and rubbed her head anxiously, ruffling her short blonde locks. "You were a horrible person when I met you then over the years you've changed, changed for good. Now when I look at you...I see that your eyes are not the same. You're not the same person any more, Xena and that's what scares me," she placed a warm hand over her heart.

Xena smiled sadly and sat down next to Gabrielle. "Sometimes, Gabrielle, people change as the years go by. I was not the same person I was twenty years ago and you aren't either. I am not the same person as I was yesterday or even a few hours ago," she smiled. "That's the good thing about being human, we change," her eyes traveled around the room in deep thought. She began to think she was spending so much time with Gabrielle, that she was beginning to sound like her.

Gabrielle nodded, "if that's true then...I don't like the way you've changed in these last few minutes," she grinned and stared into Xena's blue eyes. "I once saw a powerful woman and now I see an empty one with dull eyes staring back into my soul." She stood up and placed a hand on Xena's shoulder. "Whatever decisions you make you know I'll be there with you until the end."

"Like always," Xena admitted softly.

Gabrielle smiled, "like always," she repeated then left the room as Xena sat alone self pitying herself. Xena stood up and walked over to the mirror staring at her reflection again. She took the pins out of her bun and let her hair tumble down her back all the way to her waist. She ruffled her bangs separating each strand with her fingers. She took a cloth and wiped the black kohl off her eyes and took off the lip stain from her lips. The longer she stared at herself the more she saw the woman that Gabrielle explained. She was lost, not confused, but just lost.

* * *

Eve had been in the outskirts of Qin for the last week or so. Her mother insisted that she'd take a large group of men with her just in case something happened. At the age of twenty two she was quite independent and basically did whatever she wanted. As a princess of Greece she wanted to make sure that her message of the empire was spread peacefully and not by bloodshed –something Xena was not keen on.

Xena and Eve were vastly different in the sense that Eve wanted more peace and Xena constantly won wars through bloodshed over the years she tagged along in battles or stayed back in Athens listening to her mother argue with Gabrielle in her office about the Romans. Eve never understood why her mother hated the Romans so much as she did, but it wasn't like she didn't have good reason. The Roman Empire was expanding quickly and the Greek Empire was dwindling as the years went on. Xena was not winning small battles and though her people had faith in her, she lied to them, telling them everything was fine, when it definitely wasn't.

Eve came out of her tent and wrapped her red cape around her black armor, mimicking her mother's armor she wore so long ago. She appeared menacing but it was just for looks, nothing more. She walked to her men sitting around a fire and sat down with them warming her hands from the cold desert breeze.

"We should leave tomorrow morning to arrive in the Kingdom of Qin. We can't get anything done if we're out here," Eve smiled. The men nodded and then a scout came running towards them, a bit out of breath. Eve stood up ignoring the man's pleas and message when she saw a group of riders coming in on black horses, wearing dark clothes and had their faces covered except their eyes.

"Oh good, company," Eve smiled and grabbed her sword wrapping her black veil around her face, exposing only her bluest eyes. The riders came to a halt and the leader, she assumed, hopped off the giant stallion and approached her with a special hand signal, which she picked up on immediately. She had worked with mercenaries before but these people were a new group she hadn't seen before.

"What brings you to the land of Qin?" the rider asked in a muffled voice.

Eve's eyes darted from her men to his. "I could ask you the same question. I'm on a mission to spread the message of peace from the Greek Empire."

The man chuckled and sheathed his sword. "Message of peace from the Greeks? I find that hard to believe."

She smiled beneath her veil, "it's fine if you don't believe. What I say is true. If you trust me, disarm yourself of your weapons and my men will do the same."

The man eyed her carefully then looked to his men. He dropped his sword and his men followed suit. Eve nodded her head at her men and they did the same as her. She threw her sword in the sand and the man bowed his head generously at the Greek Princess.

* * *

Awhile later Eve sat down with the black riders. Both of the leaders, Eve and this mysterious man, did not reveal their true identities and remained shielded by their black face veils. Eve shared food and wine with the men and they agreed to join in with the others. Eve stared at the man and his eyes were so green, they reminded her of Gabrielle's eyes –so sweet, kind and yet strong.

"I never heard of the Greek Empire spreading peace," the man blurted out.

Eve smiled fixing her veil around her face. "It is the only way to keep the Romans at bay. The more peace we spread, the more followers we have."

The man nodded in silence and watched the fire burn. "You are not a mercenary." He stated. This caught Eve off guard and she didn't really know how to answer this man. It was true she was not a mercenary but he was so bold to say so.

He chuckled, "for all I know you could be..." he stared at her blue eyes for quite some time then looked away.

Eve frowned, "could be what?" she asked and when he didn't answer she started to become irritated. Standing up she put her hands on her hips.

The man glanced up at her, "nothing. You just remind me of someone I used to know a long time ago."

Eve's temper died down and she sat next to the cloaked man again, feeling a bit embarrassed getting so angry so quickly. "She had eyes as blue as the Aegean Sea and she was wild, like the fire here," he smiled beneath his veil.

She grinned at his kind words. "She sounds beautiful." He bobbed his head in agreement and sat in silence for a few minutes thinking quietly to himself. "To be honest, you look like a mercenary but you aren't one," she slyly said.

The man frowned, "what makes you say that?"

She shrugged, "mercenaries don't sit down and talk for hours on end. They get told a command and go on about their duties. I've been working with them for awhile now. The Empress wants a lot of feedback on her empire," she proudly smiled, thinking of her mother and her strides.

The man scoffed, "I have not seen the Empress come out of her _grand_ palace in years," he mocked.

Eve let that comment slide. She didn't want to give this person too many details about her mother or herself so she changed the subject. "You've met the empress before?" she curiously asked.

He nodded, "once. A really long time ago. I'm sure if she saw me again she wouldn't recognize me, but I would definitely recognize _her_..." he snarled.

"I know that she hurt a lot of people in her past," Eve admitted sadly. She had seen many deaths in her short life by her mother's sword and she couldn't say she was proud of it.

"She killed my father," he said bluntly and Eve felt a knot in her throat. Though she had seen many deaths in her life she had never really spoke to someone who's loved one died by her mother's blade or army. The only person she saw die was Phraates and she was a child then. She couldn't grasp anything that went on during that innocent part of her life.

Eve didn't quite know what to say and the man chuckled. "It's alright, that was a long time ago and I have forgiven the empress for that. I am a better person than my father ever was!" he said proudly. Eve smiled, glad to hear something positive come out of this tragedy.

"so what are you doing in Qin? I know you're not working for the Greek Empire," she teased.

The man sighed and smoothed out his face veil, concealing his identity. "I am scouting the area for a special someone." He winked, "secret business." Eve smiled nodding her head, completely understanding. He stood up and stretched his legs. "My men and I must be going. We have a lot more land to cover. Thank you for the hospitality," he extended his hand and Eve shook it firmly. "Perhaps we will cross paths again."

"Perhaps we will," Eve stood up and he left with his men following behind him. She watched them mount their horses and ride off into the darkness of the desert. She removed the face veil and squinted her eyes as she saw them disappear from the campsite. She snapped to one of her mother's men and the commander came running to her aid. "I want them followed," she demanded.

Lykus frowned, "Xena does not want you to engage in dangerous missions, princess," he advised as politely as he could.

Eve frowned, "I said I want them followed!" she retreated to her tent and Lykus groaned commanding some men to go follow the black riders and report back what they saw if they found anything.

As she entered her tent she gasped as she saw a woman laying down on the ground wearing a purple gown. Her raven straight hair draped over her shoulders and her golden eyes pierced through her soul.

"Hello there," Eris smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Xena sat in front of the mirror putting on gold earrings and a necklace to match. Throughout her entire life she had not been a glutton for jewelry but in this land it was seen strange if she did not at least appear to be royalty. She sighed and put her hair in a long ponytail and slicked back her bangs with golden headband. She noticed the Egyptians really enjoyed fine white linen but she was not going to adopt everything here. She wore her traditional black short sleeve dress with a mesh shawl wrapped around her shoulders. After examining herself in the mirror for the millionth time she exited her room to find Gabrielle.

One of the servant girls came running towards her and she knelt down holding up a scroll. Xena smiled and gently lifted the girl up. Xena ripped off the ribbon on the scroll and unrolled the parchment. "Ugh Latin," she grumbled. She brushed passed the servant girl to find Gabrielle.

After awhile of searching the long deserted halls she finally found Gabrielle in one of their large meeting rooms. Gabrielle smiled weakly at her and continued organizing scrolls on shelves in alphabetical order. Xena stepped in and folded her arms, a bit embarrassed to ask Gabrielle to read this for her. She had just given up on that language of the Romans many years ago.

Gabrielle turned around and saw Xena still standing at the entrance with a scroll in her arms. "Do you need to me to read something?" she teased.

Xena marched forward and handed the scroll to her friend. The blonde smirked and took it from her. "Oh," Gabrielle's eyes twinkled, "your favorite language!" Xena rolled her eyes and sat down in a chair resting her chin on her palm waiting for Gabrielle to decipher the text. "It's from Solan and Allat!" she beamed and this caught Xena's attention and a warm smile appeared on her lips. Gabrielle sat down next to her and then Xena saw a distinct frown form on her friend's lips.

"What does it say?" Xena scooted to the edge of her seat and Gabrielle rolled up the scroll rubbing her chin. "Gabrielle, you can tell me. Gods knows that I have seen horrible things in my life," she joked. Gabrielle looked in her eyes and Xena frowned standing up.

"They lost the territories to the Roman Empire..." Gabrielle sadly admitted. Xena buried her face in her hands then she left the room in a hurry. Gabrielle blinked and then ran after her. "Where are you going?"

Xena stormed down the hall as Gabrielle ran after her. "I'm going to write a letter to the Roman Emperor," she smiled tightly. Gabrielle crinkled her nose and pulled Xena's arm.

"But you don't write," Gabrielle stared at her with a confused face. Xena snatched her arm away from her and she frowned. "Let me write it!" she called out and Xena halted turning her head over her shoulder. "You don't exactly have a good reputation for writing in Latin," she half smiled. Xena nodded and Gabrielle followed her into her bedroom.

* * *

Hours later Gabrielle had gone through four parchments trying to write exactly what Xena wanted written down but she was being so indecisive which was very unlike her. She could tell by her constant pacing that she was not acting like herself. Gabrielle threw the quill down and Xena stopped pacing.

"What are you doing? I'm not finished yet –"

Gabrielle stood up and slammed her fist on the table, "we've been in here for hours and we haven't written a single proper letter!" she groaned and Xena blinked, a bit shocked at her friend's frustration. Gabrielle sat back down and dipped the quill into the ink and grabbed a fresh parchment. "I'm going to write this and when I'm finished I'll read it to you."

Xena shook her head, "but Gabrielle I..."

"No Xena! Just go sit down and wait until I'm done. You're starting to irritate me," Gabrielle huffed and began writing. Xena did as she said and sat down in a chair as she watched her intensely as she jotted some words down.

Gabrielle's eyes peered up and saw Xena's intense stare and suddenly she couldn't focus with that look in her eyes. "On second thought why don't I just leave your room and continue this down the hall...you can wait here," she smiled and exited the room leaving Xena alone. As soon as Gabrielle walked down the hall she was glad to be out of that room. Xena's pent up energy was clouding her mind and preventing her from thinking. She had observed Xena's odd behavior for quite some time now but had not asked her about it. She thought maybe that it was because she wasn't in Athens anymore and in a strange land. Her palace in Athens was now turned into a school and run by teachers.

Xena told Gabrielle that she no longer wanted to live in Greece as it only brought her problems but Gabrielle didn't think that's why Xena wanted to leave. She was either up to something or something was bothering her, she couldn't tell. They had been in Egypt for over a year now and it wasn't that much different than Greece except it was very hot, extraordinarily hot. The people of Egypt did not seem the least bit fazed by Xena becoming the leader of Egypt. She figured that these people have had many leaders throughout their lives and the last one Cleopatra, wasn't a great one. Though, Xena had yet to touch on changing the laws of Cleopatra's dynasty since she moved here. After Cleopatra died Xena had control of some territories but Octavius was able to weasel his way into the Egyptian kingdom and have guards posted there. Xena drove them out very quickly as she wanted to make sure that Egypt was ruled by a woman, not by a man.

Octavius had shown his gratitude by sending Xena many bribes to convince her to give Egypt to him, though none of them worked. Xena turned his gifts and bribes away. She was more disgusted that he would stoop so low to bribe her. She figured that the Emperor was growing tired of her and wanted to wipe her out.

Xena tapped her fingers on the armrests of the chair as she waited in her bedroom while Gabrielle wrote the letter. She grew tired of waiting and grabbed her sword to practice while she waited. She did not like to waste time and sitting there wasn't going to make Gabrielle write any faster.

She swung the sword to her side and stood in a defense mode. She circled around herself and then heard something. She swiftly turned around and thrust the sword forward into the intruder's chest. Ares looked down at the sword in his chest and Xena smiled.

He took a step backwards and the sword slid out of his torso. She twirled the blade in her wrist with a sly smile. "What are you doing here, Ares? Haven't you had enough of me?" she teased and set her sword on the bed.

The War God thought about it and said, "no I haven't. I've been watching you Xena for many years."

"What a surprise," she rolled her eyes. She held out her palms and smiled endearingly, "come on, tell me what you've come for."

Ares folded his arms, "you haven't changed at all. You like to get right to the meat, that's what I like about you!" he chuckled and sat on her bed comfortably. She raised an eyebrow at him and her lip quivered at his relaxed state. She swatted him off her bed and he got up holding his hand up in his defense. "Alright, alright!" he sighed and she folded her arms staring at him.

"I'm not getting any younger, Ares. Tell me what you've come for and then I'll tell you' no' then send you on your merry way. Sound familiar enough?" she smiled and Ares pursed his lips at her. He was too predictable, he gathered.

"speaking of youth," he pulled out the blue bottle from his vest and Xena eyed it cautiously. "I have a proposition for you."

Xena scoffed, "we both know your propositions don't end up as you've planned. Do you think I am still the little girl you once found all those years ago? Get out of my palace," she shooed him away and he remained standing there. She went to the mirror and fixed her eyeliner on her eyes. Ares appeared behind her and she frowned. "I thought I told you to get lost?"

"Hear me out then I'll leave," he smiled and she turned to face him with a knowing disbelieving look. "Promise," he snickered. She sighed and folded her arms waiting for him to explain himself. He held the blue vial in front of her eyes and she eyed it as he swayed it back and forth. Her eyes followed the vial and she creased her brows.

"this little bottle of magic is just for you. It can make you younger with just a few drops," he teased her and she eyed the bottle then stared into his dark eyes.

"Do I look like someone who is a glutton for vanity?" she raised an eyebrow and the War God grabbed her turning her around to see her reflection in the mirror. He touched her high cheekbone with the backside of his hand and she snatched her face away.

"If you use this...you can become almost immortal. Look at your face, Xena," he placed his hands on her shoulders as she stared at herself. "You were not the same as you were thirty years ago," he whispered in her ear.

Xena blinked, getting caught off guard by his seductive voice. "Everyone gets old, Ares. I am not excluded from this cycle of life," she stepped away from the mirror and went to the balcony overlooking Cairo.

Ares came up beside her and sighed watching the busy city go on about their daily routine. He saw the Mediterranean Sea not far from here and smiled. "You once used your looks to get what you wanted Xena and now...you can't do that," he slyly smiled as he saw her face change from stoic to solemn in a few moments. He snapped his fingers and the blue vial appeared in his palm. "Just keep it. Think of it as...a gift...from me," he grinned. He put the bottle in her palm and folded her fingers over it. she stared up at him with a blank face.

"I always knew you were destined for greatness Xena," he winked and disappeared in a flash. Xena let out a large sigh then stared at the small vial in her palm. The temptation was obvious and she felt herself wanting to open the bottle and see what it was capable of doing. She uncorked the bottle and peered inside. The liquid was quite thick and a strange color, but it did smell nice, very nice.

"Alright, I think you're going to like this," Gabrielle came into the bedroom and Xena quickly corked the bottle and slipped it down her dress. Gabrielle looked at Xena as she stood on the balcony. "What are you doing over there?"

Xena smiled and came forward close to her friend. She touched her hand and looked into her green eyes. "Just admiring the city. Let me see what you have," she sat down in a chair and Gabrielle frowned then unrolled the scroll to read what she had written.

* * *

Eve drew her sword and pointed it at the mysterious woman inside of her tent. Eris grinned and stood up at least two feet taller than the princess. Her mouth gaped at the woman's height and the goddess didn't realize that she seemed more menacing. She snapped her fingers and shrunk down to mortal size, about Eve's height.

"Better?" Eris grinned and Eve backed away slowly.

"Olympian gods are obviously trying to distract me," Eve snarled and sheathed her sword as she knew this would not be any use against a goddess.

Eris walked around Eve and touched her dark hair. "You know your gods." She gathered and smiled wickedly, "but do you know who _I_ am?" she pointed to herself and Eve shook her head 'no'. "I should really build some more temples in Greece!" she huffed. The dark haired goddess casually sat down on the floor and Eve didn't want to come close to her. "No matter, I'll just introduce myself. My name is –"

"I don't care what your name is. I don't want anything to do with the Olympians," Eve interjected. Eris blinked, a bit surprised at the young woman's behavior.

The goddess twirled her hair around her finger and chuckled. "Wow, you really are like your mother." Eve's eyes widened. The goddess grinned, "your mother's name has made its rounds around Olympus for many years, princess. Don't act so surprised." Eris stood up rolling her eyes. "Xena this, Xena that. I'm pretty sure if not for Ares, she'd be wiped out by now!" she threw her hands in the air at her own frustration.

Eve knew who Ares was, though she had never seen him before. Her mother told her never to talk to Ares or any other Olympian gods for that matter. The dark haired goddess circled around her and Eve closed her eyes, feeling the woman's long fingernails graze her skin. "So, Xena has you wandering around these strange lands all by yourself?" she hissed. Eve refused to answer and looked up at the ceiling trying not to give into this goddess' words.

"I heard you sent out a few men after those riders. Dumb move, if I do say so myself."

Eve frowned, "it's not dumb! I want to see where they are heading."

Eris tisked and wagged her finger in the princess's face. "So you defy your mother's orders to see who those riders are?" she shook her head disappointingly. "You seem like a good girl but you have a rebellious heart," she traced Eve's heart with her fingernails and Eve winced as she felt the heat radiating off the goddess' fingers. She backed away slapping Eris' hand out of the way. The goddess frowned as she didn't like being the one out of control. She grabbed Eve by her throat and lifted her in the air with ease. "Don't do that again. Ares may be more forgiving towards your mother, but I won't be!" her gold eyes glowed and Eve coughed as she threw her down on the ground.

"About those riders," Eris waltzed over to a pile of pillows and sat down making herself comfortable. Eve coughed and rubbed her throat, still feeling the burning of the woman's hands wrapped around her neck. "I think you'll be very disappointed once you find out who they are or maybe..."

Eve stood at a fair distance from the goddess, "or maybe what?" she snarled.

Eris smirked, "never mind. Anyway, I didn't come down here to torture you, though it was fun even if it was just for a moment." Eve opened her mouth to speak and Eris waved her hand, rendering Eve mute. "No talking," she wagged her finger.

Eve touched her lips and she opened her mouth but not a sound came from her lips. Eris chuckled at the young princess. She was far too easy to manipulate. If Xena were here, she would have already done something irrational. Eris was thankful that Eve was not as skilled as her mother. "I'll let you talk again if you promise to do something for me and stay quiet about it, got it?" she narrowed her eyes. Eve shook her head folding her arms.

Eris sighed heavily and tapped her fingers on her hip as she laid down comfortably. "Fine. I hope you know some sign language." She grinned and disappeared. Eve's eyes widened and she tried to scream but couldn't. she touched her throat and felt nothing. _This is just great_! She picked up a vase and threw it on the ground to express her anger.

A soldier ran into her tent and saw the broken vase on the ground smashed into pieces. "Are you alright, princess?"

Eve frowned and pushed him out of the way exiting the tent. He rubbed his head in confusion but followed behind her. She mounted her horse and wrapped the veil around her face. The men stood up from the campfire and stared at her waiting for her command. She opened her mouth and soon forgot that she had no voice. She waved her hand forward and gestured them to follow her. All the men stared at one another thinking it odd that she didn't speak but they mounted their horses and followed her as they head north of the outskirts of Qin.

* * *

Gabrielle finished reading the scroll and waited on Xena's response. She saw that her eyes were fixated on something or something in her mind. She rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers in front of Xena. "Did you even hear anything I said?" she pouted.

Xena shook her head and adjusted in the seat. "Of course I did, Gabrielle," she waved her hand dismissively.

The blonde didn't believe her. She folded her arms doubting her friend. "Okay then tell me what the last line said." She pressured her and Xena smiled weakly. "Xena! I worked really hard on this and you didn't even listen to me!"

Xena groaned and stood up, "alright, alright. I'm sorry, for Zeus sake Gabrielle, you're giving me a headache."

"The only person who's giving you a headache is yourself!" Gabrielle threw down the parchment on Xena's bed and the empress turned with shocked eyes. "Don't look at me like that! You've been acting strange ever since we came here and now..." she sighed as she realized yelling was not getting through to Xena and she was being ignored. "Something is wrong with you and I don't know what it is."

Xena's eyes lowered and she folded her arms. She had kept that vision locked away inside of her for many years and Ares always wants to come in with his stupid propositions and mix her emotions up all over again. She didn't want to tell Gabrielle and she wouldn't –she couldn't. She thought it'd be best if she stayed quiet and not speak of it. maybe if she didn't speak of it then it wouldn't come true.

"I'll read the scroll before I go to bed," Xena remained facing forward with her back turned on Gabrielle.

Gabrielle cocked her head to the side, "but you can barely read Latin..." she thought this was obvious to Xena and since she remained silent in her response she figured that she was just using her sly words because she wanted to be left alone. "Don't be push me away Xena." She walked towards the exit and saw Xena still standing there by the balcony. "If you need to talk to me, you know where to find me."

Xena nodded her head slowly, "yes I know," she responded in a low voice and heard Gabrielle's footsteps leave her room. She turned around and saw she was alone. She was around Gabrielle and many people constantly but she felt alone, more than ever. She took out the vial hidden inside her dress and stared at it, frowning. She set it on her bedside table and sat on the bed looking at it, as if waiting for an attack.

She grabbed the bottle and uncorked it wafting the scent close to her nose. The smell was almost intoxicating. Though she was never one for gloating over her looks, Ares did have a point. She often used her charm and sexuality to get what she wanted for half of her life and now that she couldn't, she had to rely on her other skills more than others to get what she wanted. It wasn't working at all for the last five years especially since Octavius was expanding his empire very quickly and efficiently.

Xena put the bottle close to her nose letting the scent engulf her nostrils. The temptation was almost something unworldly. She felt as if the bottle was speaking to her. She was more than tempted to pour a drop onto her skin but she resisted. She corked the bottle and put it in a drawer in her table and laid down staring at the table for several minutes.

Gabrielle leaned on the wall as she watched Xena seal the tiny bottle and put it back in her drawer. She frowned knowing something was definitely up with her. She crept into the room and scrawled on the bed sitting close to her. Xena felt a body come close to her and she knew it was Gabrielle.

"What's in that bottle?" the blonde asked. Xena sat up and turned to look at her friend with a half smile.

"Something that plays with life," Xena said cryptically. Gabrielle didn't understand so she continued, "Ares came by with another one of his propositions. He didn't give me a chance to reject him."

Gabrielle's eyes widened, "Ares came to you? I haven't seen him in years!" she saw the distress in her friend's eyes and rested her palm on her knee. "Xena, we both know Ares is trouble. Nothing good comes from him." Xena nodded in agreement. "So...what does the...what does the bottle have in it?"

Xena pulled out the vial and examined it. "I don't know. He said something about youth and that it can make you younger. I don't really know."

"The elixir of youth. It belongs to one of the Muses on Mount Parnassus," Gabrielle said and Xena blinked. "I read about it when I was a little girl. "I thought it wasn't real, but I guess anything is possible." Gabrielle eyed the bottle and took it from Xena placing it back in the drawer. "Xena, that stuff could be dangerous. There could be effects..."

Xena smiled, "I wasn't going to use it Gabrielle. Just going to keep it for insurance."

Gabrielle grinned, liking to hear some of the old Xena once again. "Glad to hear you being yourself again." She kissed Xena's hand and Xena grinned in response. "Have you heard from Eve?"

The empress shook her head with a sad frown. "Not for a few weeks. I know she wants to do things by herself but I still worry about her."

"Me too but she's a strong young woman now. She's not a little girl, though she could definitely handle a few men even as a little girl," she chuckled. Xena shared a laugh with her friend. "Hopefully she comes back with good news."

"Yes, hopefully."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: oh Xena...lol Enjoy and sorry for not updating this. I don't really like writing sequels to be honest, but I'm putting my best effort forward to create a new storyline for this story. Of course some overlap will occur, but anyway. Rambling. Enjoy and let me know ya'lls thoughts! :)**

_Chapter 3_

Eve rode through the outskirts of northern Qin to look for those riders. She touched her throat, begging to speak but her speech was lost to her. Grimacing she pulled the reins of the horse and continued riding onward with her mother's men following behind her.

After riding for awhile she spotted the riders and approached them with her sword pointed at the man she met before. He stood up with his hands up and she nudged him to come closer to her. He inched closer and she pointed the blade closer to his chest. He frowned at her, "I thought we were friends?"

Eve opened her mouth to protest but she was mute. Groaning she sheathed her sword and the young man took a generous step back. This was going to be difficult to communicate with her voice lost to her. She snapped her fingers at her men and took a rope out of her bag and handed it to one of her men. The young man pulled out his dagger and Eve's eyes narrowed.

"I thought you were spreading peace?" he yelled at her and she remained silent. "You've gone dumb or something?" he scoffed and the man tied him up and knocked out his men following him. "What are you doing?!" he spat at her as she sat proudly on her horse. The men took him away and hoisted him on top of a vacant horse. She kicked her horse and rode off to leave Qin. She needed to get back to Cairo to see her mother and Gabrielle. She knew that this man could possibly be a spy or something which is why she wanted him followed.

Xena wanted her to spread peace across the vast amount of land beyond Greece and so far she has done so, but she had to bring this man back to Cairo as she didn't trust him for whatever reason.

Hours later they slowed to a trot and Eve saw the sun rising in the east, they were far, far from Cairo but getting closer to Persia. She peered behind her and saw the man asleep on the horse sitting up. She smirked and continued leading her men into the Persian lands. She had been here before and was to make sure that she'd never return. Out of all the places to spread peace, Xena said never approach Persia, for obvious reasons. The past had damaged any sort of peace treaty there so long ago.

Eris appeared sitting behind Eve on the horse and touched her arm gently. Eve gasped and turned to face the mysterious goddess. "Want your voice back?" she hissed into her ear. Eve frowned and said nothing, obviously. She didn't even dare look at her either. "Can't talk to your precious mother with no voice now can you? She'll know something is up," she grinned wickedly. She wrapped her arm around Eve's slim waist and the princess's eyes widened, not moving. She was still as stone, refusing to react violently as others would see.

Eve looked around to see her men focused on the road ahead. Eris grinned and chuckled lowly. "Don't worry you're the only one that can see me." She sighed. "So how 'bout listening to my offer, huh?" eve shook her head and furrowed her brows trotting faster. Eris looked behind her and saw the young man wake up from the horse's sudden pace startling him. "That man, he's cute isn't he?" Eve did not react and Eris touched Eve's face with her long slender hands. "I did some digging into your past. That man is closer to you than you think, Eve. Tell you what! I'll let you have your voice back when you reach Cairo but not a word about me to Xena, got it?"

She contemplated the goddess' words and she relented, nodding her head. Eris pinched Eve's cheek and she grimaced. "Good girl, but one more thing before I go." Eve peered behind her to see her gold eyes staring back at her. "You must do everything I say and leave your wretched mother out of it!" she frowned deeply then disappeared. Eve sighed heavily finally able to breathe normally now that she was gone. Xena had told Eve about the Olympians and how they like to toy with mortals' emotions periodically. She was beginning to think that she was right. Eve had no idea what this goddess wanted or why she chose her. She hadn't even told her what exactly she wanted her to do, but she was sure that she'd find out and soon.

* * *

A week passed by in Cairo and Xena was expecting Solan to return any day now. She woke up early and dressed in her black dress with a beaded belt around her waist. She walked to the entrance and saw Gabrielle already waiting outside of the palace waiting for Solan to arrive, though with horrible news, it would be nice to him after many months of being away.

Gabrielle felt Xena's presence behind her and she smiled. "Kora told me that she saw men on horseback on the Nile." She peered up and saw a smile on Xena's lips, a genuine one at that, something she hadn't seen in a very long time. "I know he'll be very happy to see you," she winked.

Xena placed her hands on Gabrielle's shoulders, squeezing them lightly. "Ten months and five days," she said softly and Gabrielle pat her dear friend's hand. Both looked at the gates and the large doors were opened. Solan rode on a white horse wearing Assyrian armor and a large helmet with a black plume on top. He waved at them and Xena's smile widened. She then left Gabrielle's side and came down the steps almost jogging to greet her son she hadn't seen in so long.

Solan dismounted the horse and walked forward embracing his mother warmly. Though he was not a child anymore, he was still seen as one in Xena's eyes. He pulled away from the embrace and took off his helmet handing it to Kora, one of Xena's trusted maids in the palace. He touched Xena's cheek and her eyes lit up. "You look tired, mother," he said solemnly and she grabbed his hand squeezing it tightly.

"I am always tired," she smirked and Solan chuckled then peered behind her to see Gabrielle waiting anxiously. He smiled and instantly ran towards Gabrielle and hugged her so tight he lifted her off the ground.

She coughed, "Solan!" Gabrielle gasped and he set her back down on the ground. She cleared her throat and brushed her black knee length skirt off. "Nice to see you again!" she smiled and he kissed her cheek softly.

Immediately he thought of something he nearly forgot. "I brought back you guys something!" he smiled and pulled out not a scroll but a loosely woven book from his bag. He presented it to Gabrielle bound in nice leather. "For you Gabrielle."

She took the gift and examined it closely. She frowned and opened up the bounded papers in awe at the organization of it all. "What is this?" she stared up at him.

"It's a book. Allat's scholars in Assyria put it together just for you. I know you really like philosophers, so these are the philosophers from Assyria and Persia combined into one manuscript!" he grinned and Gabrielle hugged him warmly, thanking him. He then whistled at one of his men to bring out his mother's gift. "I got something for you too mother," he slyly smiled.

Xena shook her head, "you didn't have to do that. I have everything I need," she politely rejected and Solan tisked then one of his men brought out a blonde horse. He grabbed the reins and placed them in Xena's palm, closing her hand tightly. "I know she's no Argo, but she's a really good horse. Allat said I could give her to you. I know you'd take good care of her." He smiled and Xena blinked, not sure what to say. Argo died years ago and she hadn't had another horse since then, but this horse looked almost just like her.

"I...don't know what to say," Xena stepped forward and brushed her hand on the horse's mane. Solan shrugged and admired the happiness he saw in his mother's eyes. He knew that she did not like gifts unless they could be used and were meaningful. He figured that she could use this horse and get out of the palace since she hadn't left, he supposed, since he and Eve left.

"You don't have to say anything," he said softly. "I brought back a new strategy game from Assyria for Eve. Is she here?" he scanned the area and Xena shook her head. He frowned in response and Xena pulled the reins of the horse, gesturing for all three to come inside the palace.

* * *

Awhile later the three sat in a private chamber close to Xena's room and Solan leaned back in the chair, now out of his heavy armor, wearing only white pants and tan tunic. He swished the glass of water in his hand and shook his head. "She's still in Qin? I thought she'd be back by now."

Gabrielle nodded, "so did we. She hasn't sent a word back to us since she left six months ago," she sighed and Xena remained quiet, staring off into dead space. Solan looked to his mother and soon Gabrielle's eyes followed his. They both noticed the strange look in her eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked aloud.

Xena turned her head with a weak smile. "I think I have made a mistake letting her go off on her own. I should have gone with her," she sighed, rubbing her chin nervously then scratched her knee.

"Xena stop it," Gabrielle's eyes looked to her insolent scratching. "Eve is an adult now. She is fine, probably busy, nothing to worry about."

Solan smiled trying to lighten the mood. "Yeah, she's probably beating up some guys," he chuckled and both women turned to him with a glare. He sunk lower in the chair. "Or maybe she's not...?" he sheepishly smiled. "We all know that she can probably beat me up!" he laughed aloud and Gabrielle hit him in the shoulder. He winced and rubbed his arm then stood up. "Well ladies...I'm going to leave you two alone while I go get myself situated." He turned to leave then halted, staring at his mother. "I need to talk to you about Octavius later...if you have time," Xena nodded, waving her hand dismissively and he smiled, exiting the room.

Gabrielle turned her attention onto Xena now that they were alone. She knelt down close to her and held her hand in hers. "She'll be alright, just wait," she grinned trying to reassure her then kissed her hand and Xena sighed.

* * *

Late in the night Xena refused to come to dinner, allowing herself to be locked away in her room. She did not even let Gabrielle in, which she was not happy about. Xena stared at her reflection in the mirror as she began taking off her earrings and wiping the lipstick off her lips and eyeliner around her eyes. She felt hands come to her shoulders and she tensed up. Her eyes went to the mirror and saw Ares standing behind her and she frowned. "What do you want now?"

He grinned, "just admiring you, is that not allowed anymore?" he teased and she ignored him, continuing her nightly routine. "You miss Eve, I can tell." She paused and stared at the earrings in her hands. She threw them in the jewelry box and grimaced. "Octavius is on the move too in Assyria," he tisked mockingly. "I know that's got to eat you up inside," he hissed in her ear and she shivered as he was nearing.

She stood up and turned to face him. "Whatever you're doing it's not going to work."

He sighed and folded his arms staring at her as she began to fix the sheets on her bed. "Silk sheets. Look at you, living the high life while others starve." Xena pulled back the sheets then breathed in slowly trying to calm herself, not allowing herself to give into Ares' manipulative ways. "You let your precious Eve go into Qin all alone and for what? To spread a message of peace?" he smirked. "HA! If that isn't the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard coming from you!"

Xena took the sword out from beneath the mattress and thrust it into Ares' torso. He gasped then raised an eyebrow at her. "If only you were a mortal, just for a day Ares," she smirked. "You wouldn't last one minute." She pulled out the blade and paced around her room. "I see coming to torture me has become a bit of a hobby of yours."

Ares rolled his eyes. "Right and getting all mushy with Gabrielle is yours," he teased and Xena glared at him. "Oh yeah, I went there." He looked to her bedside table with her chakram lying on top of it. he opened the drawer and pulled out the vial that he gave her. "I see you haven't used it yet." He nodded shaking the bottle and the liquid glowed a bright purple.

Xena stared at the bottle in his hands and he smiled deviously at her. "You miss it don't you?"

"Miss what?" she snapped and he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Being in the war zone. All the killing, the fighting, etcetera!" he came behind her and wrapped his arm around her slim waist. "Being an empress become too boring for you huh?" he whispered in her ear. He pulled the cork off the bottle and wafted it in front of her nose. She closed her eyes, ignoring his tempting ways. "Just take it, you will become invincible."

Xena growled and pushed him away. "I don't want to be invincible! I want to be normal!" she shouted then he blinked. She touched her mouth not believing what she just said. She hadn't even told Gabrielle how she had been feeling, but she mistakenly told Ares.

He began laughing and this only angered Xena even more. Her blood began boiling within her veins and his laughter boomed through the room. "Can...can you repeat that?" he mocked. "Normal! Oh Xena you really know how to tell a joke," he pushed the vial in her face becoming serious again. "Take it." she waved her hand and took a step back. "Do it, Xena! Or I'll make Eve mine and maybe even Gabrielle too," he shrugged, "just for shits and giggles," he winked. Xena's eyes widened. She didn't want Ares to come near Eve at all. He remained in the shadows for her entire life and she didn't need him coming around destroying that. And Gabrielle...she frowned at the War God and he smiled enticingly at her.

"We all know how this can end. Eve becomes my new warrior queen leading a life of destruction and war or..." he pushed the vial into her face. "you can take this and I'll leave her alone...leave everything alone," he whispered.

A knock was heard on her door and Xena gasped. She heard Gabrielle's voice behind the door and she stared back at the War God. He raised his eyebrows and uncorked the bottle. "Come on..."

"Why? Why Ares? Why do you want me to do this? What do you get out of it?" she grimaced.

He sighed heavily. "I just want to see you rise to the top, Xena. Your boat is sinking and quickly too if I might add," he smirked and Xena heard Gabrielle now yelling at her. She went back and forth between the two. Ares held the uncorked bottle in his hand and she frowned. "Perhaps you'd like to see Gabrielle reunited with all those dead philosophers?" he grinned and Xena's eyes widened.

She dropped the sword and stepped forward, ignoring Gabrielle behind the door. I'm so sorry, Gabrielle. She took the vial and tipped it over ever so slightly and two drops of the liquid fell onto her wrist. Quickly it dissipated and dissolved into her skin immediately. Ares' eyes lit up just looking at it. she examined her hand and found nothing strange happening, nothing weird. He stared into her eyes and she instantly regretted doing this. She just made a deal with Hades, she thought. Though, Ares was far worse than Hades.

"Next time I'll use the blonde in another crisis. She is useful after all!" he grinned and disappeared. Xena looked to her wrist and found nothing odd. She then realized that Gabrielle was still rapping on her door and more frequently, her voice spoke of urgency.

"Xena!" Gabrielle yelled and the door swung open. She saw Xena with unkempt hair and wild eyes. She blinked and stared at her strange appearance. "What in Gaia's name were you doing in there that you couldn't answer the damn door?!" she set her hands on her hips angrily staring at her friend.

Xena ignored her question. "What do you want, Gabrielle?" she said in a soft calm tone. Gabrielle groaned and ran her fingers through her short locks.

"I've received word that Eve is on a ship to Cairo right now. She should be arriving by tomorrow morning," she thought that would lighten her friend's mood but so far she seemed unfazed. She folded her arms and stared skeptically in her eyes.

A delayed response of a smile came to Xena's lips. "That's great news," she said unconvincingly then went back into her room tucking the bottle into her dress so Gabrielle wouldn't see. Gabrielle closed the door behind her and Xena sat on the bed, back turned to her.

"What is the matter with you?" Gabrielle ran to Xena and faced her. She saw a foreign look in her eyes, almost as if she feared something. "Did something happen?" she knelt down and touched her hands and Xena remained quiet. "This is not the time for the silent treatment, Xena." Still no response and Gabrielle stood up frustrated with her. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it." she paced with a mocking smile. "You know, I don't know if it was something I did...or I don't know, talk to me, Xena!" she yelled.

Xena stared out into the open balcony at the dark sky. "Gabrielle..." she said quietly and then slowly turned her head to face her. "I need to tell you something that I've been keeping from you.."

Gabrielle's face softened and she sat next to Xena on the bed, grabbing a hold of her hand. "For how long?" she asked barely above a whisper.

She smiled weakly, "for a very...very long time," she admitted sadly. "Do you remember when we took Eve to the inner city of Athens when she was seven?" she spoke softly and Gabrielle nodded her head. "Ares showed me something," she began and turned to see the malice in Gabrielle's eyes. She sighed, "he showed me the future –our future." She stared up at the ceiling not sure how to word this. "I saw Eve in Athens, commanding an entire army. Then I saw you...you were fighting against her, Gabrielle." She sighed heavily. Gabrielle remained quiet, knowing that Ares' little mind tricks were quite famous in the past. "And...I was dead," her eyes widened.

Gabrielle didn't want to hear that. She couldn't hear that and stood up, facing her. "What do you mean dead?!" she yelled frustrated at this entire picture that Xena painted. She stared up at her and Gabrielle began pacing back and forth. "So you decided to keep this from me for...fifteen years?" she yelled and Xena had no good reason for that. She settled down then sat down next to Xena taking everything in.

She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly for a few silent moments. Xena remained still and staring at her hands in her lap. Gabrielle peered over at her friend and she couldn't be angry with her, though it was easy to be. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Xena groaned, "because I didn't want it to come true! I thought if I didn't talk about it then it would just go away."

She felt the need to slap Xena for saying such pathetic words. "So you decided to run away from the problem? That's not like you..." she stared off into the dark skies contemplating the correct words to say at the moment. "Is that why you've been acting strange? Is that what is on your mind?" Xena remained silent so she took that as an affirmative 'yes'. "I see. I thought we agreed no secrets between us?"

Xena rolled her eyes, "Gabrielle I don't need a lecture. I know what I did was wrong and I'm...sorry. when Ares showed up recently it only made me think about it even more. And with Eve gone for so long..." she folded her arms and Gabrielle wrapped her arm around her body.

"We're supposed to do things together. Remember when you were pregnant with Eve?" she smiled and Xena half smiled thinking of those difficult times. "You said that you were glad that you weren't alone because you had me there, remember?" Xena nodded. "So...you're not alone, not _ever_. I'll always be with you, Xena, but don't shut me out." Those words were echoed into Xena's mind far too many times over the years by Gabrielle.

Xena nodded her head and stared into those green eyes she had loved to look at for so many years. "Can you forgive me?" she pleaded.

Gabrielle smiled smugly. "I'll have to think about it," she teased and Xena half smiled at her companion's joke. She stood up then Xena grabbed her hand gently.

"Gabrielle, would you..." she smiled embarrassed to admit herself. Gabrielle smirked and pulled back the sheets and laid down in the empty spot next to Xena. She grinned at her blonde friend and laid down under the sheets, staring at her in the dark. "Thank you."

The blonde reclined on the soft pillows and peered over at her raven haired companion. "You wouldn't let me in your room and now suddenly I get to sleep with you." She smirked. "You must keep secrets more often." She teased and Xena lightly slapped her shoulder and Gabrielle gasped.

"One day I'll get you when you least expect it," Gabrielle proudly told herself. Xena began chuckling under the breath and she glared at her. "What's so funny?"

"I'm still waiting for all those punches you promised you'd give me after Eve was born. Twenty two years later, I'm still waiting!" she teased and Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

A few silent minutes later Xena saw was on her side, her back facing her. She grinned mischievously and then punched Xena in the shoulder blade. The empress huffed then swiftly turned her head with a playful glare. Gabrielle smiled smugly. "That's one." Xena groaned and rolled over to go to sleep. Gabrielle hit her again and Xena rolled over narrowing her eyes. "Two."

"Stop it Gabrielle," she said lowly and closed her eyes, bringing the sheets close to her. Gabrielle balled her fist up again and was about to hit Xena straight in the shoulder until –"If you hit me again I'm going to throw you out of the bed," she mumbled and Gabrielle blinked. Xena opened her eyes with a lighthearted grin then closed her eyes a few moments later, getting comfortable.

Gabrielle stared at the ceiling then hit Xena in her collarbone and swiftly rolled on her side, her back facing Xena now. "Three!" Xena groaned and she giggled softly. She then felt a kick to her back and she fell out of the bed loudly onto the floor. Xena grinned smugly and Gabrielle climbed back into bed after rubbing her probably now bruised spine. She glared at Xena. She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed and that subtle smile was too obvious that she enjoyed that too much. "Not bluffing were you?" she folded her arms.

Xena exhaled softly. "I never bluff, Gabrielle," she mumbled. "Good night."

"I kind of liked when you were depressed. Not so bossy," Gabrielle teased and Xena's eyes opened staring at her blonde friend.

"You're a real comedian. Go to sleep," she rolled over onto her right side to get comfortable.

Gabrielle grinned, "I love you Xena."

"Love you too, Gabrielle, now for the love of Zeus, go to sleep," she grumbled and Gabrielle missed that odd sense of humor Xena once had.

* * *

In the morning Xena awoke to a bright sun shining in her eyes. She looked next to her and saw Gabrielle still sleeping, like a baby. She smiled and swung her legs to the side of the bed, rubbing her face. She walked to the mirror to brush her hair and her mouth gaped. She took a step back not sure what she was seeing was real. She touched her face and inched closer to her reflection.

Her hair was shinier, her skin complexion was smoother, softer, like it was about ten years ago. The subtle wrinkles around her eyes were gone as well. She touched her waist and it was slimmer as were her legs. She looked to her hands and it was as if time went backwards. She took the vial out of her dress that she didn't bother to put away. She stared into the purple liquid, almost fearing it. she put in her drawer and slammed it shut, alarming Gabrielle.

Xena looked to the bed and saw Gabrielle awakening. "Hey...you're always up so early." She grumbled and rubbed her eyes. Xena turned away not wanting her to stare at her face, afraid of her initial reaction. She ran her fingers through her soft hair and sighed. Gabrielle got up and grabbed two towels for them both. "Are you coming to the baths or what? I'm sure Eve will be here in a few hours."

"Oh...um, go without me. I'll catch up to you later," she had her back turned.

Gabrielle raised a brow, but was not bothered by it. "Alright," she opened the door then stared back at Xena's long hair. "Did you brush your hair?" she marveled.

Xena felt her nerves creeping up on her and she twiddled her thumbs anxiously. "Yes, a few times...just before you got up," she said softly, scratching her arm nervously.

"It looks nice!" Gabrielle complimented her then left the room. Xena let out a loud sigh then stared at her reflection in the mirror once more. She couldn't believe what she had done. This was too noticeable, she thought.

She began to run through all the scenarios in her head of why Ares would give her this. Was it to stop the future from happening? But what does youth and age have to do with that? She rubbed her chin pensively then stopped looking in the mirror as it freaked her out. She had gotten used to what she looked like for awhile now and it was like seeing another person –well, not really.

She then grabbed her towel that Gabrielle got for her and exited the room. Passing all the servants they bowed to her and she hid her face from them making her way down the hall as fast as she could. She never realized there were so many people in the palace up at this hour. Suddenly she felt more self conscious than ever in her entire life.

* * *

Entering the baths quietly she saw Gabrielle oiling her skin. She turned her back to her and stripped herself of her robes. Gabrielle eyed her cautiously and noticed a difference in Xena's body. Her legs were most noticeably different, though she didn't say anything. "Aren't you going to come in?" she grinned and swam to the edge of the bath, tapping Xena's ankle. "The water is really nice."

Xena grinned nervously. "I'm sure it is," she looked down at herself and then noticed the scar that was once on her abdomen had disappeared. She touched her stomach with a confused frown. Not keeping Gabrielle in suspense any longer she slipped into the water, immediately dunking her head below the surface.

She came up from the water and had her back slightly turned to Gabrielle then she felt her soft hands on her shoulders. "You seem less stressed after last night," Gabrielle mused and rubbed soap on Xena's shoulders. Xena grinned anxiously nodding her head.

"Yes...I feel a lot better now." Though truthfully she didn't feel better at all. She just lied to Gabrielle again for the second time. She would notice for sure if she turned around. She remained with her back turned and allowed Gabrielle to rinse her long dark locks.

"That's great! You were really worrying me," Gabrielle rinsed the soap off of Xena's body and she felt a sudden tension in her. She tried to turn her towards her but Xena resisted. "What's wrong?"

Xena got out of the water and wrapped the towel around her body. "Eve should be here soon. I need to get ready," she left without further explanation. Gabrielle frowned and stared as Xena walked the halls soaking wet. Gabrielle couldn't blame her though. She had been keeping that horrible secret to herself for a long time and didn't have time to process it all. She only told her last night and knew when to leave Xena alone to compose herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: and the trouble continues! Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 4_

Xena ran back to her room and slammed the door, leaning against it she slowly slid down to the floor and roughly ran her fingers through her hair. Her heart was beating faster and faster by the minute. Her eyes widened and she stared down at her hands, aware that she had just turned back time. Her fingers were not as thin anymore and her hands were void of subtle wrinkles. She got up and threw the robe on her bed, going to pick out something to wear. Truthfully, she didn't want to come out of her room especially of how she looked.

She opened her wardrobe closet and took a good look at her clothes –black –all she saw were black clothes. Everything was so dark and she had been wearing black for many years now. Grimacing she took out all of her black clothes and threw them on her bed. In the back of the closet she saw a blue gown that she had not worn in many years, with mesh sparkling sleeves and backless. She grabbed the dress and touched the fabric gently with her fingers, remembering wearing the gown so long ago. She couldn't remember why she decided to keep it.

A smile came to her lips as she held the dress in her arms. It reminded her of Greece, her palace in Athens, and how it used to be. Now she was here in Egypt and nothing was the same anymore. She frowned and slipped on the dress then went to the mirror to look at herself. She smoothed out the wrinkles in the gown and stared at her face once again –it was as if her reflection was Medusa staring back at her. She shied away then grabbed all of her black clothes and opened her door.

"Kora!" she called out and the young Egyptian woman came to her aid. She knelt down in front of her and Xena smiled weakly. "I want you to take these dresses and..." she frowned, "burn them."

Kora stood up confusedly at her and took the large mass of gowns from the empress. "All of them?" she questioned in a soft tone then Xena nodded her head slowly. "Alright, I will do that."

Xena grinned folding her arms, "I want you to go and buy new fabric from the vendors in the city," she said and Kora nodded. "Of every color." She young servant girl smiled and left her said skipping down the long hallway to go dispose of the gowns like Xena asked her to. She closed the door behind her and let out a loud sigh then grabbed a towel and dried her wet locks.

She sat in front of the mirror and brushed her bangs forward, fidgeting with them with her fingernails then grabbed her lip powder and dabbed some of it on her lips. She stared at the liquid eyeliner then threw it out the window, feeling like she didn't need to wear that anymore. She wasn't Egyptian, she was from Greece. She was Greece's empress. Smiling she grabbed her dagger from the vanity to set it in her bedside table drawer the pricked her finger clumsily. She hissed from the large cut on her index finger and blood trickled down her finger.

Then she went through her drawers to find a small cloth to wrap her finger with to stop the bleeding. She pulled out a small makeup cloth and looked at her finger, but it was no longer bleeding. In fact, the cut was slowly disappearing and her eyes widened.

Startling her she heard Gabrielle on the other side of the door and she jumped. She put the dagger away and told her to come in. Gabrielle waltzed in and closed the door behind her, already dressed in a tan knee length skirt and a sleeveless top to match. She was surprised to see Xena wearing something that was not black.

She noticed that was a very familiar dress that she had seen before. She wore it in Greece a lot, so much that it had to washed more than once a week. She smiled and folded her arms while Xena remained preoccupied with her lips and face at the moment.

"I haven't seen you wear that in a long time," she mused and Xena smiled weakly, hiding her face from her friend. Gabrielle then looked to her wardrobe and all of her gowns were gone and she frowned. "What happened to your clothes?"

Xena rubbed her lips together and wiped her fingers off on a cloth. "I told Kora to burn them," she said bluntly and she heard Gabrielle gasp. "It is time that I do not wear black anymore," she said in a low voice.

Gabrielle smiled and came up to Xena, placing her hands on her shoulders. "It's good to see that you're acting like yourself again."

 _Oh please don't say that, Gabrielle_. She turned away from the mirror and picked a pair of silver dangle earrings. Gabrielle looked at her still wet hair and then ran her fingers through it, causing Xena to tense up her entire body. "I can put your hair in a bun for you," she smiled and Xena sighed, sitting down in the chair with her back turned to her. Gabrielle picked up the brush and carefully ran it through Xena's long hair.

As Xena sat in the chair silently she felt Gabrielle's fingers against her scalp, twisting her hair tightly. She wouldn't be able to hide anything especially when Eve came here. She would see her face eventually and feared her reaction because she'd know what she did and she wasn't sure if she could face any more disappointment from Gabrielle.

Gabrielle twisted Xena's hair on top of her head in a large bun and stuck a large flower comb into it. "Finished!" she smiled and Xena refused to look at her reflection. "Are you sure you're better? You ran out of the baths in such a hurry."

Xena nodded, "yes I'm just...excited to see Eve again," she hid her lies and Gabrielle could understand that, though Xena wasn't much for being so abrupt when it came to her daughter. Her reaction to her coming home was very unlike her. She expected her to be elated but instead she was aloof and silent about it all.

Gabrielle ignored her tone of voice and grabbed her hand pulling her out of the chair. Xena hid her face with her hand and Gabrielle frowned. "What in the world?" she chuckled at Xena's odd behavior. She stopped and tried to pry her hand away from her face. When Xena wouldn't move her hand she frowned. "Xena..." she grabbed her wrist and finally pulled her hand away from her face.

It took awhile but Gabrielle's green eyes lit up in awe at what she saw. It was like they went back in time a decade or so ago. She stared into Xena's eyes and they were different. She touched her face with the backside of her hand, her face was smooth, her lips plumper and her hair was darker, shinier and smoother as well. She had more color in her cheeks and she wasn't even wearing blush. Xena stared at Gabrielle's face, seeing confusion, she was mystified.

Finally it donned on Gabrielle and she pulled her hand away. "What did you do..." she grimaced and then went to Xena's bedside table and opened the drawer to see the elixir. Xena said nothing and saw the anger rising in Gabrielle. "Tell me you didn't do what I think you did," she breathed heavily holding the vial in her hand. Xena looked away and folded her arms solemnly.

She came to her and pushed Xena backwards forcefully, catching her off guard Xena stumbled back. "You told me you weren't going to use it!" she pushed her again and Xena stumbled back a few steps and Gabrielle hit Xena in her shoulder. She didn't respond and allowed her friend to hit her and push her as many times as she wanted. "Now, I understand!" Gabrielle snarled and pushed Xena so hard she fell to the floor. Xena's eyes widened and she stared up at her. "Why...what...how..." she groaned and stared at the elixir. "What's the matter, nothing to say?" she frowned.

Xena shook her head putting her hand up for surrender. "Gabrielle no, you don't understand!" she defended herself and Gabrielle raised an eyebrow disbelievingly at her.

"What is it that I don't understand? You made a deal with Ares! Something you said you would never do again!" she yelled then threw the vial on the bed storming out of the room. Xena got up and ran after her.

"Gabrielle, wait!" she called out and stopped running after her once she saw she wasn't going to come back to her. A hand came to her shoulder and she frowned.

"She's pretty upset at the new and improved you, isn't she?" Ares snickered and Xena's heart beat quickened.

"Good job Ares, you've just turned my best and only friend against me. She hates me," her head hung lowly and Ares chuckled at her and that made her even more angry.

He sighed, "I didn't do that. _You_ did," he whispered in her ear. "don't you have a daughter to greet?" he smiled and disappeared. Xena looked over her shoulder to respond but he was already gone. She cursed herself then marched onward to exit the palace. She was sure Gabrielle was there already to greet Eve.

* * *

She saw the gates open and Eve riding in on a large horse and she smiled at her. Xena smiled falsely and waved her hand at her from afar. Much to her surprise she didn't see Gabrielle here and Solan wasn't here either, but she was sure that he was asleep still from his long journey.

Eve felt her voice instantly return to her just like Eris said, but her words still lingered in her mind. She hopped off the horse and jogged over to her mother with a grand happy smile. Xena stepped forward and embraced her tightly. Eve recognized instantly that her dress was not black like usual. She loved that blue gown and had seen her mother wear it many times. Pulling away from the warm much needed hug she took a good look at her mother and furrowed her eyebrows, confused at what she saw. When she left Egypt, she definitely remembered her mother not looking the way she did.

"You look...different," Eve said curiously and Xena's smile disappeared, a bit embarrassed and had no good explanation for it, well she did, but she'd rather not say any of the sort to her daughter. Eve saw her mother's smile die and she decided to leave it alone. "But you look a lot happier since I last saw you!" she saved herself. She kissed her cheek and Xena grinned warmly. "I'm so happy to see you again! Where's Gabrielle?" she scanned the area.

Xena sighed, "she's busy right now. I'm sure you'll see her later." She peered behind her daughter and saw a few other men enter within the gates and a young man tied up and a bag covering his head. She frowned pointing at the strange guest, "who's that?" she inquired.

Now it was Eve's turn for the smile to disappear. She knew that her mother was not going to be happy to find out she had basically kidnapped a man, keeping him hostage. "Well, he's someone I met in Qin. I...had him followed then decided to take him here..."

Xena frowned, creasing her brows. "You _kidnapped_ him?" she said lowly. Eve rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "This was supposed to be a mission of peace!" she marched forward and took the black bag off the man's head. He blinked at the bright hot sun beating down on him. He then looked down to see Greece's empress glaring up at him with that knowing frown he had seen far too often in the past. She saw the realization in the man's eyes and she folded her arms, disappointed with her daughter.

"Xena..." he said aloud and Xena raised an eyebrow, not expecting him to know her name, as she had never seen him before. "You look just as I remembered," he half smiled.

Eve put her hand on her hip staring at the young man, a bit confused by his words. He did briefly mention to her that he met her mother before, but she never recalled meeting him before. Xena smiled apologetically at him. "Sorry but I don't recognize who you are. You must forgive my daughter," she glared at Eve and she looked away from her mother's dagger eyes. "I didn't send her to bring hostages to my palace." She snapped her fingers at the guard. "Set him free," they immediately untied his hands and he hopped off the horse, rubbing his sore wrists.

He glanced around at the desert entrance and the palace had Greek accents to it, definitely not Egyptian at all. "I thought your palace was in Athens?" he smiled and Xena turned to face the young man.

"Not anymore, that was a long time ago," she admitted sadly. "I will have my maid, Kora, take you inside and you can have whatever you want then you can leave." She placed her hand on Eve about to head off into the palace. The young man smiled and walked ahead of the women into the palace. Kora was waiting at the entrance and he figured this was the maid Xena spoke of.

Xena squeezed Eve's shoulder tightly and she winced. "You and I need to have a little talk about kidnapping people," she whispered in her ear and pushed her forward. Eve sighed, rolling her eyes and sluggishly walked inside the palace with Xena following behind her.

As soon as they entered and the guards closed the doors Xena grabbed Eve's wrist. "Go change and then come to my room immediately." She stared into her daughter's blue eyes and Eve tried to snatch her wrist away but Xena only gripped tighter.

"Alright!" Eve yelled and Xena's eyes widened then finally released her. "Ever since we moved here you've been so mean to everyone! Gabrielle wouldn't treat me like this." She turned and went to her room and Xena folded her arms, watching her leave in one of her tantrums. She sighed, rolling her eyes then thought of Gabrielle. She needed to find her and quickly then deal with Eve later.

* * *

Xena casually strolled through the long halls checking in every room to find Gabrielle but so far no sign of her yet. She rounded the corner and bumped into Solan. He smiled and apologized to her. She grinned weakly at him and tried to get around him. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she inwardly groaned, thinking she didn't have time for this.

"I haven't seen you wear that dress in years!" he marveled and Xena sighed heavily. "You look a lot better from when I saw you yesterday."

She pat his cheek, "Solan, I don't really have time to talk right now." She tried to sidestep him but he moved in front of her then she rubbed her forehead, becoming frustrated. "Solan.." she smiled tightly, "could you...move?" she stared up at him and he moved out of her way. "Thank you!" she marched forward down the hall. He stared at his mother confusedly and watched her round the corner in a hurry. He shook his head then continued down the long corridor.

All the places she looked in were empty and no sign of her blonde companion. She was beginning to think that she left and suddenly it hit her. The library. She head to the east wing of the palace and opened the double doors and saw Gabrielle sitting down at a table with the book that Solan brought her back from Assyria. She looked up and when she saw Xena, she frowned, ignoring her and kept reading.

"Gabrielle..." Xena stepped closer and sat down opposite of her."You and I need to talk," she said placing her hand over hers. Gabrielle pulled her hand away and Xena's head hung lowly, feeling even more ashamed of herself. She sighed and set her hands in her lap, "I didn't do it because I wanted to..."

The blonde dug her head deeper in the book and propped her sandals on top of the desk, hiding her face from Xena. The empress sighed and began fidgeting with her thumbs in her lap. "I did it to protect you and Eve!" she said and Gabrielle's eyes peered over the top of the book to see Xena's pleading eyes staring at her. She went back to 'reading' ignoring her. "Ares said that –"

Gabrielle slammed the book on the desk. "Since when do you believe what he says?" she said in a flat tone and Xena blinked, not sure how to answer that. The true answer was never, but this time it was different. "He's a liar, Xena and you gave into his temptation. I'm so disappointed in you," she folded her arms and Xena sighed.

"Me too," she mumbled. "But listen Gabrielle, I couldn't take the chance of losing the two of you so I had to do it and...I'm sorry," she scratched her head nervously and Gabrielle reached over the desk slapping her hand away from her head.

"I hate it when you do that," referring to her anxious scratching. "You could have found another way." She said and Xena remained silent. "You could have come and told me," she said a softer tone. The two sat in silence in the giant library and Gabrielle sighed, throwing her legs off the desk and rubbed her head anxiously. "Do you...feel any different?" she felt concern instead of being angry. It wasn't like her nor was it healthy to be angry at her best friend.

Xena eyes traveled up and she shrugged. "Not really."

She nodded, "I'm going to find out more about the elixir, but for now...I will leave it alone." She stood up and held out her hand to Xena. "I need to see Eve," she smirked. Xena grinned and grabbed her hand then both left the library together.

* * *

Eve had taken a bath and washed her wavy dark hair and wore a new piece of clothing she bought in Qin. She sat in front of Xena and Gabrielle, both of them staring at her though Xena had a menacing glare while Gabrielle remained stoic. She sighed heavily and shrugged her shoulders trying to lighten the mood in the room. She didn't like sitting in her mother's room especially when she was in trouble, though she felt as if she didn't deserve to be lectured. She was an adult now, not a child but her mother made sure that it would never be that way.

"You don't even know his name do you?" Gabrielle said finally. Eve shook her head sealing her lips shut and stared at her mother. Xena tapped her fingernails on the chair's armrest. "Eve, we sent you on a mission of peace, not to capture people."

Eve folded her arms. "What does it matter? He came into my camp first anyway. I didn't trust him," she shrugged and Xena remained quiet. Gabrielle looked to her then back at Eve. "why do you keep staring at me like that?" she asked her mother and Gabrielle's eyes widened, surprised by her behavior.

"What do you want me to say? You didn't do what I asked you to do," Xena straightened herself in the chair and Eve rolled her eyes.

"You weren't so peaceful once upon a time ago, mother," she snickered and Xena got up from her chair then Gabrielle stepped in front of her. Gabrielle grabbed Xena's arms and pleaded with her eyes. Xena stared at her then back at her sassy daughter. Eve smirked and remained seated, bouncing her foot up and down waiting for some backlash from her mother.

Once Gabrielle felt Xena calm down they both sat down. "What's gotten into you?" Gabrielle reprimanded Eve. The arrogant princess stayed silent. "You have nothing to say?" she raised her eyebrow.

Eve stood up throwing her hands in the air. "It's this place! I hate Egypt! I want to back to Athens where I belong!" she glared at her mother, "where _you_ belong," she chided. "But you decided to come here and try to fit in here. We don't, mother!" Xena pursed her lips observing the change in behavior in her daughter and it was rather unsettling.

"Sit down!" Gabrielle stood up and Eve blinked. She sat down back in her chair slowly, staring up at Gabrielle. "Xena decided to come here and give the palace for the students to study. Octavius is moving his empire further into Greek territory. It wouldn't be safe for us to stay there and leave Egypt unguarded." She set her hands on her hips and Eve frowned.

Xena smiled at Gabrielle's mothering skills towards Eve. She seemed to listen to her more than her biological mother, which wasn't surprising to her. Eve always liked being around Gabrielle more because she wasn't her mother, she let her do things that Xena wouldn't allow her to do –in other words, Gabrielle spoiled Eve more than Xena liked.

"Why are you both so afraid of Octavius? He should have been wiped out a long time ago!" Eve frowned staring at her mother. Gabrielle sighed, feeling a headache coming along.

Xena interrupted, "I'm not afraid of him. I never was and never will be," she stated and Eve didn't argue with her. "I already lost many of my territories to him and now Allat has lost his kingdom to Roman rule."

Eve huffed, "well I'm tired of failing! This mission of peace isn't working, mother." She stood up and brushed her long skirt staring at the two women. "If you won't do anything then I will. You can't keep me here locked up like a child." She stormed out of Xena's room and Gabrielle ran to catch her.

"Don't Gabrielle," Xena said and she halted watching Eve run down the hallway.

Gabrielle scoffed, "what has gotten into her?" she shook her head. "I can't believe she spoke to you like that!" she folded her arms frustrated at Eve and her awful attitude.

Xena stood up and picked up the elixir staring at it. Gabrielle stared at her cautiously. She didn't like the tension between her and Eve nor did she like it between her and Gabrielle. She came forward and presented the bottle to her. "I want you to keep this." She placed it in her hand and smiled.

"Alright...but what about the hostage?" Gabrielle was less focused on the stupid potion and more focused on Eve's little kidnapping move.

"I am not concerned with him. He seems like a traveler. I told him he can leave and take what he wants," Xena sat on her bed and Gabrielle didn't really like the plan, she saw it in her eyes. "I should go talk with Solan about Octavius. I was really...rude to him earlier," she mused and got up to leave. Gabrielle frowned and left the room as well but she decided to leave the palace to a much library –the library of Alexandria. It would take her about four hours by horse to arrive there but she needed answers and would not find them here in Cairo.

* * *

Eve marched to the large sitting area and stared out the balcony at the brightly lit desert city before her. It was nothing like Athens. Athens was gorgeous, lush greenery, many tall trees, huge forests and gorgeous weather. This place was hot, dry and there was nothing green to look at.

"I get the feeling you don't like here much," the young man startled Eve and she huffed, leaning on the balustrade, overlooking the city. He came to stand next to her and join her. She scooted away from him, not liking his close proximity. "Not all of Egypt looks like this, you know," he smirked.

"why are you talking to me? I kidnapped you," Eve mocked. He shrugged and looked into her blue eyes.

"I had an idea about who you were when we met in Qin but now it is confirmed since you brought me here," he smiled and Eve stared at him confused at his words. "you don't recognize me do you, Eve?"

Her eyes widened. "How did you know my name?" she stepped away from him. He folded his arms with a charming smile. His eyes sparkled in the sunlight and his dark long wavy hair flowed in the gentle breeze. The longer she stared at him the more he seemed familiar to her. Her mouth gaped and she took a step closer. "Samuel?" she said aloud and his smile widened. She reached her hand forward then realized what she had done, her cheeks became red with embarrassment.

"You just kidnapped the King of Persia," he chuckled and she shook her head. She didn't recognize him, it had been such a long time she had seen him and he was...did he say, king? "Still stubborn as ever!" he smirked and Eve stared at him with a frown. "And the same frown too."

"My mother is going to have my head when she finds out about this!" she felt angry more at herself. She should've listened to her mother, she thought, but since she didn't, this was her consequence. Kidnapping a Persian King was probably the worst thing she had done in her short life.

Samuel shrugged, "Xena is the empress of peace now though, right?" he mocked. "I'm sure she'll forgive you." He reached out to touch her shoulder then retracted his hand. "Oh I forgot, you don't like to be touched," he grinned then walked off the balcony back into the palace.

Eve rubbed her forehead frustratingly. _Mother is going to kill me_.

* * *

Xena went to Solan's room to speak to him and found him on the floor, hissing in pain. Furrowing her brows she ran to him and saw his hand stained with blood. "What happened?!" she instantly felt fear and he leaned against a chair and she looked around for something to stop the bleeding from his wound. She found a scarf and wrapped his torso and he winced at her touch.

She grabbed Solan's sword off his desk and circled the room slowly, opening neighboring doors but found nothing. She looked out the windows and came up with nothing. He groaned and stood up, she turned her attention towards him after closing the curtains to the open windows. "One of your guards came in here..." he winced, moving his body slightly. She helped him up to sit on the bed and took off his cloak, throwing it aside. "And he stabbed me!"

"Why would one of _my_ guards do that to you?" she asked then furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you sure he was one of mine?" she stared into his eyes and he honestly didn't know. He was dressed like every regular guard in the palace but to be attacked randomly was odd. Xena didn't think so.

"Yes I'm sure!" he groaned and she frowned.

Eve walked into Solan's room and saw her mother sitting next to her brother. "Mother I need to talk to you..."

Xena stood up and waved her hand. "Not now. I need to find Gabrielle."

Eve frowned, "but this is really important!" she yelled and Xena stared into her eyes, not wishing to hear her news.

"I said not now!" she brushed past her daughter and Eve huffed. She looked over to see Solan was hurt and she came to sit next to him, she saw blood seeping through the scarf around his torso.

"Solan, what happened to you?!" she touched his face and he pulled away, not wishing for his sister's affections.

He pushed her touchy hands away. "I'm fine! Someone stabbed me, one of mother's guards," he knew that sounded ridiculous as soon as he saw the strange look in her eyes. "You gave me the same look mother did." He smirked, trying to make light of the situation.

"I'm going to get Kora," Eve ran out of the room to go find the maid girl to aid her brother's open wound.

Meanwhile Xena stormed through the halls calling out Gabrielle's name and again, she was lost to her. Kora was carrying some fresh linens and Xena stopped her. "Kora, have you seen Gabrielle?"

Kora frowned, "she went to Alexandria. I thought she told you."

"She _what_?" Xena blinked, "no, she didn't tell me!" she yelled and Kora winced, taking a step back. _Let's do things together, she says. Let's not lie to each other, she says_. Xena growled then went to find her men to scope out the palace grounds and the entire surrounding homes to find this guard. She knew he wouldn't be here in the palace if he was smart.


	5. Chapter 5

_Mirror Mirror on the wall_  
True hope lies beyond the coast  
You're a damned kind can't you see  
That the winds will change  
Mirror Mirror on the wall  
True hope lies beyond the coast  
You're a damned kind can't you see

 _That tomorrows bears insanity_  
Gone's the wisdom  
Of a thousand years  
A world in fire and chains and fear

 _Leads me to a place so far_  
Deep down it lies my secret vision  
I better keep it safe  
Shall I leave my friends alone

 _Hidden in my twilight hall_  
I know the world is lost in fire  
Sure there is no way to turn it  
Back to the old days

_Song: Blind Guardian –Mirror Mirror_

_For Xena_

 

_Chapter 5_

 

Xena grabbed her chakram and sword from her room then went outside of the palace to search for the guard alongside her men. She didn't bother to change and still wore her blue gown, running through the outskirts of the palace. Guards were trailing behind her and she narrowed her eyes, thinking this becoming quite the search party. She was beginning to believe that Solan had sent her on a wild goose chase to find this so called guard, but why would he lie about something like that?

The sun would be setting in just a few short hours. She noticed that Egypt's sun always left the sky much quicker than Athens and that meant little time during the day to get things done. It would make this a lot harder to find intruders lurking in the dark.

She marched on the outer wall and saw Eve on the second floor of the palace talking with her captive. She frowned staring up at her, completely oblivious to her watching. "Did you find the guard?" Xena yelled up at her daughter and saw Eve was a bit startled.

"No mother, I haven't found anything yet!" Eve leaned over the side of the wall and Xena snarled, then kept moving. Eve turned her attention back to the Persian King, Samuel. He smiled charmingly at her and she half grinned, feeling sheepish. "I'm sorry I kidnapped you," she whispered, then looked over the wall to see her mother scouting the area with her men in tow. "I didn't have a chance to tell my mother about you..." she sighed.

Samuel folded his arms, "what a small world isn't it?" he chuckled. "You got kidnapped by my father years ago and now you kidnap me! That is too funny."

Eve frowned, not really finding any of this funny at all, though she always liked his charm even though she was annoyed by him as a child. "I need to get you out of here before something happens to you, or to me..." she thought of her mother's wrath and she wasn't equip to deal with that. It appeared that she was very hostile right now, she was on a mission. Eve knew better than to tell her mother about certain chaos during a time like this.

The Persian King shrugged his shoulders, "I am in no rush to go home, Eve." She stared at him bemused by his lack of caring of being here, as a hostage. "My men will come looking for me sooner or later." He leaned in closer to her, "that guard was Persian not Greek or Egyptian," he hissed in her ear. Eve's mouth gaped and she took a few steps back away from him. He smiled at her mischievously. "So you see, your mother has no idea and you're probably going to tell her everything, right?"

Eve's eyes widened then left his side running down the stairs to catch up to her mother. Samuel leaned over the wall and watched the young princess run on the outer walls of the grand palace. He looked around at the architecture of the palace, nodding his head at the fine craftsmanship. "Xena, you are quite the architect." He sighed and went inside the palace, enjoying his free time away from his kingdom for awhile.

* * *

 

As Xena came to the city, far from the palace grounds she really wished that Gabrielle had not run off like she did without telling her. Whatever she was doing in Alexandria couldn't be so important she had to run off in secret. Forgetting about Gabrielle for a small moment she saw a large crowd of men in armor approaching the palace grounds. Her eyes widened and she thrust her sword forward. She felt her blood boiling inside, and dare she say, she was excited to fight again as she had been hiding away in her grand palaces for many years now.

All of the men turned to look at her and she smiled, standing in defense mode, she ripped the bottom half of her dress off ready to attack them. She noticed that all of the men's armor was not Greek, Egyptian or Roman, but...Persian? she thought that odd but gave her men the go ahead and they ran in front of her attacking the Persian men.

Xena ran ahead and the Egyptian people were observing the fight between both parties. She pushed the women and children away. "Go! Get out of here!" she yelled and they ran down the long alleyway, far from the fight. She turned around grimacing at a soldier coming near her, she thrust her sword in his torso and he fell to his knees, then suddenly everything was a standstill.

Raising a brow she saw the fight was paused. Nobody was moving, speaking and had swords in each other, while others had arrows ready to shoot. Xena took out her blade and the soldier remained still, staring up at her blankly. It was as if time was frozen and she didn't understand why. She waved her hand in front of an almost beheaded Persian and he didn't even flinch. _What is this sorcery_?

Stepping over a dying Persian she saw an arrow in midair coming right for a Persian behind her. She touched the arrow and broke it in half. Off in the corner she saw Eve was paused as well looking as if she were running towards her. Xena didn't understand why everything was paused. She looked up to the sky and saw a bird in midflight was also at a halt. Everything was so silent and she couldn't make sense of this at all. She immediately thought of Ares, but he couldn't stop time, at least she thought he couldn't.

Frowning she pushed one of her men aside and then battle began again to her surprise. She was hit in the back of the head with a hilt of a sword and fell to the ground. Eve gasped and saw her mother fall to the ground like she was falling in slow motion. She saw a Persian come behind her and thrust his sword ready to stab Xena in the back. Without thinking Eve picked up a sword from a fallen Persian soldier and ran towards him tackling him to the ground, stabbing him through the heart.

She panicked and was beginning to think this was all her fault, she flipped her mother's body over and stared at her. Her eyes closed and a bloody wound on the side of her head. She touched the back of her head and there was blood as well. Eve's eyes widened and she grabbed Xena from beneath her arms and drug her off away from all the fighting. She glanced up and saw a Persian coming for her. Growling she left Xena against a wall of a home and took her sword and clashed against the Persian.

"You won't kill her! Not today!" the princess snarled and head butted him and he fell backwards, but still he was resilient. She stood guard protecting her mother's unconscious body.

"We are here for our King!" the soldier yelled at her and he saw a realization in the princess's eyes.

"You want him! Go ahead and take him! But leave here at once!" Eve said and thrust her mother's sword into his torso, knocking him to the ground. She looked around to see the Persians had fled into the palace grounds and she panicked. She knelt down next to Xena and brushed the backside of her hand on her cheek. "I need help!" she called out. A few Grecian soldiers saw the princess kneeling down next to the empress. Two men came over and one giant soldier lifted Xena into his arms and the three ran back to the palace, taking the back entrance.

The soldier placed Xena in her bed and Kora came in with some towels a basin of water. Eve sat on the edge of the bed holding her hand tightly. "Why didn't you duck mother?" she questioned. She was so confused as to why her mother didn't see that attack coming, it was so unlike her. Kora cleaned the wounds on the side of Xena's head and then tended to the back of her head gingerly.

Kora saw the solemn face of the princess and half smiled, trying to reassure her. "She will be alright, princess." She wrapped Xena's head with a large gauze and removed the basin from the table, heading out of the room. She turned to see that Eve was definitely not going to leave Xena's side. "I will be back later to change the bandages..." she said and received no response. She head out of the room and closed the door behind her. She then saw Solan heading down towards Xena's room with a worried look on his face.

He held his side and frowned at the Egyptian maiden, "is she alright?" he tried to side step her but Kora blocked the door. He furrowed his brows and Kora remained in front of the door. "Can't I see her?" he folded his arms.

Kora shook her head, "no, she needs to be alone right now, Solan." She said then left the door. A few guards came to Xena's room and guarded the door. Solan huffed and went in search of Gabrielle.

* * *

 

Gabrielle arrived in Alexandria much faster than she expected. She took off the tan veil around her face, protecting her skin from the scorching sun she stepped inside the library. She thought this was a great place and always dreamt of coming here, she was glad that she was so close to it.

She smiled at the library keeper at the front desk and he stood up grinning at her. He was an older man, dark skinned with a black beard and dark wavy hair loosely tied in a ponytail. "Gabrielle! It's been many moons since I've seen you!" he wiped his hands from the dust.

Gabrielle nodded, "yes I know, Amas." She sighed heavily taking in all of the literature surrounding her. "I'm afraid I haven't come to enjoy your philosophical works this time," she frowned sadly and Amas folded his arms, concerned for his literature-loving friend.

"What is it that you've come for then?" he smiled and took out a few pieces that he had been organizing. "These were sent from Carthage last week. It's about the annihilator, I know you like history," he winked.

Gabrielle smirked, "no not that, but thanks. Do you have anything related to...magic of Greece or...something?" she seemed hopeful. She saw Amas' gears turning in his head and then left the desk going to the east wing of the huge library, she followed him.

He climbed  a tall ladder and rummaged through a few parchments, looking for something that might suit Gabrielle's needs. He grabbed about twenty scrolls and hopped off the ladder, presenting the large mass of literature to her. Her eyes widened and he grinned smugly. "I think this might help you, friend." She thanked him and took the scrolls to a table to sit and begin reading. Amas raised a brow then sauntered over to her, as she began unrolling all the scrolls one by one, using paperweights for each of the corners. "What is this for? Are you dabbling in magic?" he joked.

Gabrielle shook her head, "no, it's not for me, it's for...a friend," she mumbled and started reading but so far this wasn't really what she was looking for so she unrolled the other scrolls, desperately looking for information on this elixir Xena had with her.

"Let me know if you need anything else, Gabrielle," Amas offered and he left her to be alone reading all the manuscripts.

Two hours later and Gabrielle was becoming frustrated as she had found nothing that was related to this elixir. She groaned, throwing the scrolls aside, burying her face in her hands out of frustration. It would be dark soon and there were very few people in the library now.

Amas leaned on a large shelf observing his friend. He felt that she was obviously very disturbed by whatever it was she was looking for her. Slowly he approached her and sat down opposite her at the table. Gabrielle breathed heavily then looked up and saw Amas smiling at her, she jumped back, not expecting him to be staring at her like that. "Didn't find what you were looking for?" he inquired and she shook her head, feeling defeated. "Why don't you tell me exactly what you're looking for and maybe I can help you?"

Gabrielle sighed and dug in her bag she carried with her and pulled out the vial that Xena allowed her to keep. She placed it in the middle of the table and frowned. "I need information on _that_!" she folded her arms leaning back in the chair. Amas picked up the bottle examining it carefully. "It's an elixir of youth or something. It's from the Olympians."

Amas' eyes widened as he looked at the purple viscous liquid. "So fascinating! The Olympians you said?" he then stared at his blonde friend cautiously. "How on earth did you get this?"

She shrugged, "it's not mine, it's my friend's."

Amas now understood everything and he stood up pacing around marveling at the vial. "Is it...your friend...Xena?" he smirked and Gabrielle's eyes lowered, not wishing to respond. Now he knew everything. "Ah, so it is." He frowned tipping the bottle side to side. The more he did the liquid became thicker, almost like clots of blood. Very interesting, he mused. "Come with me Gabrielle, I think I have something you might find useful to you," he walked off into a separate quarter of the library.

They came to a small room, most likely his office. There were hundreds maybe thousands of scrolls in this tiny room. Gabrielle would love to look at them all, but she simply didn't have time and if they were in his office that meant he would take ages to organize them in order to be put in the library for public display.

He rummaged through a large pile of scrolls, silently cursing to himself. Gabrielle hid a smile beneath her hand as she watched the elderly man look through a needle in a haystack. He pulled out a large scroll, about two feet long, he unrolled it on a podium and Gabrielle's eyes widened. She stepped closer and saw a painted illustration of the Muses from Mount Parnassus. There were hardly any words, but a lot of inked paintings on the scroll. Amas groaned and scooted the scroll and let it roll onto the floor, pushing it further to the left, there were more pictures.

Gabrielle touched the parchment and he grinned. She then saw a picture of the elixir. Amas leaned in closer to make out the small handwriting on the manuscript. "It says that...anyone who uses this elixir will instantly become younger." Gabrielle thought much was obvious. "But if taken too much, it could have serious complications such as hallucinations, change in behavior or.." he groaned, "can't make out that word there," the word had been faded and was almost illegible.

"How much is _'too_ _much'_?" she asked in a hushed tone. Amas grumbled then pushed the scroll, coming to much larger text connected with the picture to the left.

He shrugged shaking his head trying to read the text as best as he could. "It says that it differs from person to person." He kept reading then found something noteworthy. "Sometimes it can make a person invincible but it really depends on the giver of the elixir."

Gabrielle immediately thought of Ares and how this would possibly have any gain for him. "What does it say about that?"

Amas kept reading and then pointed at a sentence, "the supplier of the elixir is responsible for all the actions of the accursed person. They have rules though!" he raised his finger and kept reading further. "This elixir must not be used in force or through threats or something horrible could happen to the accursed. It could end in death if not used correctly and –"

Gabrielle didn't want to hear that, she didn't like that word death and she also hated Ares for this stupid plan of his, which she had no idea what that plan exactly was. "Can I take this with me? I promise to return it to you when I study it further," she pleaded. "I need to return to Cairo."

Amas smiled and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "Sure, anything for you Gabrielle." She smiled and they both rolled up the large scroll and she held it underneath her arm in a hurry to leave at once. Amas followed her and saw her mount the horse, wrapping the veil around her face. "Gabrielle!" he called out and she stared at him, pulling the reins of the horse, ready to take off. "Let me know how it goes..." he half smiled and Gabrielle nodded, then took off to return to Cairo at once.

* * *

 

Xena woke up in her bed, and her eyes scanned her surroundings. She was not in Cairo anymore. She was in her palace in Athens, in her old bedroom. She looked to her right and saw her spider, Zoe in her cage. Zoe died years ago, she thought. She was beginning to feel like she was losing her mind and jumped out of bed and saw she was wearing a burgundy robe, one of her favorites to wear on a lazy day, if she ever had one.

Cautiously she opened her bedroom door and saw Racha walking down the halls, smiling, greeting her warmly. Xena stepped out of the room, touching all the walls to make sure this was all real and everything was here. She didn't understand why she was back here and this definitely wasn't present time, otherwise she'd be in Egypt right now. She didn't really remember anything after those Persians came.

The rubbed the back of her head and winced, feeling a sting of pain at her subtle touch. Thinking that odd she ran down the stairs and saw her palace was completely empty, void of children, of everything. It was as if everything was taken back in time.

She looked through all the doors and nobody was there, no teachers, scholars, students, no Solan, nothing! Groaning she went to another hall and saw Gabrielle. Finally someone normal. She smiled and ran towards her, startling the blonde.

Gabrielle's eyes widened as she saw Xena standing in front of her, embracing her warmly. "Xena...Xena, can't breathe!" she coughed and Xena pulled away. "Are you alright?" she questioned.

"Gabrielle! What are we doing back in Athens and how come nobody is here?" she frowned.

Gabrielle looked at her curiously then touched her forehead, checking for a fever. Xena frowned and slapped her friend's hand away from her. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked and Xena groaned, folding her arms.

"Yes, I'm fine! How did we get here?" Xena felt as if that Gabrielle was completely distant towards her and had a deer in the headlights look in her eyes.

"we...never left?" Gabrielle took a step closer and examined Xena's eyes. "Are you sick?" she whispered.

Xena's eyes widened and now she truly felt like she was in a twilight zone. "What are you talking about? We live in Egypt now! We left Athens a long time ago!"

Gabrielle took a step back, a bit afraid for her friend at the moment. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've even been to Egypt, Xena." She sighed and Xena began pacing around in a circle. "Are you drinking again?"

"No I'm not!" Xena yelled and Gabrielle winced. "Sorry..sorry," she rubbed her forehead. "Where is Eve?" she surveyed the area, hoping that something else normal would pop up besides Gabrielle.

Now the blonde was completely oblivious to Xena's little charade. She had no idea what she was talking about. What is all this talk about Egypt and leaving and now this? "Who's Eve?" she asked and Xena turned to her with wide fearful eyes.

"My daughter...?" Xena's voice trembled and Gabrielle shook her head.

"Xena, you don't have a daughter. Did you hit your head or something?" she feared that Xena was making things up now. _A daughter? Is she crazy_?

Xena scratched her head then ran back up the stairs to Eve's room next to hers. She swung open the door and saw the room was not a child's room at all, but like it was left many years ago. There were no lavender curtains, no bed, nothing. What is going on, she thought.

Feeling herself suddenly going into a panic attack she ran to her room and looked at herself in the mirror. She was just as she was when she was in Egypt, though now she wasn't in Egypt anymore. She was back home in Athens where _she_ belonged...

She grabbed her sword on the wall and smashed the mirror into a million pieces then sliced through the extravagant chair in front of her vanity set. Groaning she ripped the curtains on the window and breathed heavily.

Gabrielle peered at Xena at the entrance of her bedroom and saw her ripping the place apart. She was so angry, though she knew that Xena could be a bit unpredictable at times. Xena swiftly turned around with the sword pointing at Gabrielle and she feared for her life. Xena came at her, grabbing her by her blouse and threw her on the bed, with the blade pointing at her neck. "Are you real? Is _any_ of this real?" Xena chuckled mockingly and Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear.

"Xena...I'm real...you're real...everything here is. I –I don't...understand why you're acting like this..." she looked to the blade and Xena growled, stepping away from her blonde companion. Gabrielle sat up staring at her friend pacing around in a circle.

Xena slumped down to the ground, leaning against a wall she threw her sword across the room. She banged her head against the wall and winced as the subtle pain returned for a brief moment. She noticed Gabrielle's fear in her eyes. She didn't want to come back here, and by the looks of it, she was set back in time just like her appearance was.

Something came to her and she slipped her robe open, staring down at her abdomen. The scar was gone just like she recalled back in Egypt that morning. Something wasn't right here and now she was stuck here, if this was real or a dream, she didn't know, but she needed to get out of this place.

"Is Solan gone too?" Xena said blankly, her eyes wide open staring off in a daze. A single tear streamed down her cheek and Gabrielle came to sit next to her friend, holding onto her hand, unsure why Xena's odd behavior had emerged suddenly.

Gabrielle cleared her throat, "he's in Rome with Octavius, remember?"

Xena smiled weakly, "of course he is. Silly me," she mocked. Gabrielle stayed close to her albeit a bit afraid of her absent mindedness. Xena pat Gabrielle's hand gently.

"Xena...you're worrying me," Gabrielle hushed and Xena lolled her head to see her friend. Gabrielle wiped her friend's tear stained cheek, not understanding what was going on inside that head of hers.

* * *

 

Eve sat in a chair staring at her mother as she laid in her bed, still not awake and it had been a few hours now. Xena laid still as stone with her arms by her side. Kora had changed Xena's gauze around her wounded head and she really hoped that she'd wake soon. Eve sighed as she continued to stare, not taking her eyes off of her in case she awakened.

Solan entered the room and saw his younger sister watching vigilantly for hours now. "Eve, she's not going to wake up now, why don't you go to bed?"

"No!" she yelled out and folded her arms. "this is all my fault anyway," she mumbled. Solan placed a warm hand on her shoulder and she sighed heavily, feeling the guilt overwhelm her. "Why didn't she see that Persian behind her?" she frowned, shaking her head at the mystery of it all.

"She hasn't been herself for awhile now. Perhaps...she is out of practice," he smirked and Eve remained silent. He thought it best not to make jokes as their mother lay in bed practically like a vegetable. "She will wake up eventually. She's Xena after all," he smiled and Eve peered up at him, grabbing hold of his hand.

"Where is Gabrielle?" Eve frowned, thinking of her second mother missing in action was strange.

Solan pulled up a chair to sit down next to his sister. "She's in Alexandria, that's what Kora told me. I wonder what she's doing there."

"Well she should be _here_!" Eve grimaced then touched the torn dress that her mother wore and a smile came to her lips. "Her favorite dress is ruined now," she smirked.

He shrugged, "she can have new ones made," he lamely said then stared at his mother's face noticing a change in her face that he had not recognized before. "She looks so different."

Eve nodded, leaning back in her chair, frowning at her mother's appearance. "She does...I noticed it before when she came to greet me, but I didn't think anything of it."

 


	6. Chapter 6

_Whisper, whisper in the dark_  
_Tell me what you see_ _  
_ _Poisoned by this lie infested poetry_

 _Liar, liar on the wall_  
_Give the world to me_  
_A wasteland or a monarchy?_ _  
_ _(Liar liar) Tell me what you see_

 _Now I'm here and my pain is my companion_ _  
_ _Now I know it wasn't meant to heal, the cut is way too deep_

 _No more wasted years of sacrificial bleeding_ _  
_ _I'm the master of the war inside me_

_Song: Kamelot –Liar Liar_

_For Eve_

**AN: Can Xena be in two places at once? Is it all real or make-believe? Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 6_

Xena ran downstairs to her office inside of her Athenian palace and rummaged through the large stack of documents trying to find out what was going on and why she was here. Gabrielle stood by the entrance and watched Xena throwing scrolls and manuscripts all over her office, making a tremendous mess of things. Xena picked up one large manuscript and luckily for her, it was in Greek, she read it over carefully. She couldn't believe what she was reading and now she had to know this wasn't real at all, she was dreaming, that's it.

She ran to Gabrielle, grabbing her arm forcing the parchment in her face. "What is this? When did this happen?" she yelled and Gabrielle winced as Xena's grip tightened further. "Tell me, Gabrielle!"

Gabrielle wiggled out of Xena's hold and looked to the document reading over it quickly, skimming the entirety of it. "You signed it last week, don't you remember?" she stared into Xena's unknowing eyes and so she continued, "Octavius gave all of his territories from Anatolia to North Africa to you."

Xena nodded, making sure what she was read wasn't a lie. "There was no war between Greece and the Romans, then?" she asked innocently and Gabrielle shook her head confusedly. "How did he give up his territories to me so easily?"

Gabrielle frowned, now not sure what was going on with Xena at all anymore. She was acting so strangely she didn't even know her anymore. "Your naval fleet attacked Rome and Cairo. He pulled back his army..." she stared at Xena's bemused face. "What's gotten into you? It's like you're not even the same person as you were yesterday."

Xena smiled weakly, "I am not the same person I was an hour ago, Gabrielle," she knew that those words would meaning nothing to her, but she needed to feel somewhat normal in this fantasy world she was living in. She won, she actually won. Sure, she won the right to these territories and that was through a large and long war with the Roman Emperor, but in this world, she didn't listen to Gabrielle and decided to use the naval fleet, destroying the Roman's army and he surrendered. It was a great dream this was, she thought.

"So...you're telling me that we won, _I_ won..." Xena smiled, folding her arms. Gabrielle stayed silent observing Xena basking in her already won victory against Octavius. Xena then realized this all had to be some trick and shook her head and scratched her forehead anxiously. "No! This is not real, none of this is real. You're not real, I'm not real."

Gabrielle shook her head taking a step back from Xena. She wasn't sure what was going on anymore. Xena wasn't acting herself and she was fine yesterday, but now, it was like she had amnesia. Xena brushed past her and ran back up to her room, shutting the door behind her. Gabrielle was tempted to go after her and once she heard the door slam she decided to leave her alone for awhile. Perhaps if she cooled down for awhile then she would be alright, she hoped.

Gabrielle went to her room and decided to write about this strange experience that she was having with Xena just to get her thoughts out of her mind. She closed her door and sat on her bed, pulling the curtains aside to let the bright sunlight in. Immediately she jotted down all her thoughts, some out of order and the grammar wasn't there but she just needed to write. Though to be honest, she figured that Xena was still in denial about what she did. She banished Solan from ever returning to Athens because she couldn't have him here.

He still didn't know about her being his mother, which Xena preferred, for his own safety and her own. She wanted to preserve her empire and her people as much as she wanted to keep Solan away from her. She didn't want him near her as she thought she was a danger to him. Gabrielle knew this to be true, her ambitions were quite dangerous, though she won. She hoped that one day she could allow Solan to come back here and not with Octavius in tow as his foster father.

* * *

Xena sat on her bed for many hours until the sun had set. She threw the empty wine bottle off her bed and rubbed her eyes, feeling extremely drained from everything today. She wanted to go back home, though when she meant home, she thought of Athens, not Egypt. Perhaps Eve was right, Egypt was not where she belonged, she belonged here, in Athens, as their ruler. But here, she was here and Eve wasn't. She was supposed to be here and yet she wasn't.

Picking up a half empty wine bottle she poured a new glass for herself and downed it quickly. When she came to Egypt, she had left wine alone, it wasn't her friend, but here, wine was her best friend, especially right now. She peered up and saw Gabrielle enter her room unannounced. She grinned, downing another glass of wine. "You never knocked..." she mocked.

Gabrielle saw her friend finishing off not one but two bottles of wine all by herself and now she knew something was wrong here. She wouldn't do that, at least not by herself and when she did, it was with her allies that came to visit or when she threw extravagant parties. Slowly she tread in, trying to ignore Xena's excessive alcohol consumption.

She sat on the bed a few feet away from Xena observing her odd behavior. She frowned, "did you finish all of that by yourself?" she said, a bit shocked. Xena nodded and offered some wine to her which she kindly refused. "Xena I don't understand your behavior, it's like you have amnesia...did something happen to you?"

Xena smiled and sipped on the wine slowly this time. "A lot of things have happened to me Gabrielle." Gabrielle felt like that was a bit of an understatement. "But you know, there's something I don't... _understand_ ," she groaned finishing off the glass of wine. Gabrielle's eyes widened and Xena pointed her finger at her confused friend. "I have a daughter...and she's not here. I don't...belong here," she looked outside at the dark skies and smirked. "And I _know_ this isn't real because..." she exhaled heavily and Gabrielle raised a brow staring at her now drunk friend. "Because...I won by naval attack..you see, I won this battle many years ago, and you were there, I was there, everyone was there!" she smiled nodding her head remembering that ridiculous battle. "And I killed all...ALL...of Octavius' men on the ground...soil," she reiterated. "I won by bloodshed and strategy because he wouldn't comply!" she chuckled and Gabrielle leaned in closer to her, worrying for her. "Because of _your_ strategy, Gabrielle, so...I know," she wagged her finger with a smug smile, "I know this is all just in my head and you are too!"

Gabrielle frowned sadly at her as she watched Xena finish off the second bottle of wine, throwing it off her bed along with the other empty bottle. "Xena, you need to sleep...maybe you'll act more...normal in the morning."

Xena grimaced at her blonde companion. "Normal?! I am not normal, Gabrielle! I never was and never will be!" she leaned against her pillows with her arms folded, no longer finding this dream world amusing anymore. She felt something trickle down on her lip and she touched her nose. She saw Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear.

"You're bleeding!" she exclaimed and Xena rubbed her nose and saw her blood stained fingers. Gabrielle ran to grab a cloth from the bathroom and immediately started dabbing Xena's nose.

The empress slapped her friend's hand away with a large frown. "Stop it! stop trying to help me!" she snarled and Gabrielle pulled away.

* * *

Solan fell asleep in the chair next to Eve while she remained awake, staring at Xena in her bed, still not awake just yet. Eve was writing down her thoughts and she wanted to deal with Samuel, but she was sure he was gone now, though this was a large palace, he could be lurking elsewhere, but she doubted that. The Persians were here to take him and they made that very clear.

She looked up from her parchment and saw her mother's nose was bleeding. She slapped Solan in the arm to wake up. "Solan wake up!" she knelt beside Xena and dabbed her bloody nose with a wet cloth. He abruptly woke up and saw Eve hovering over their mother. "Her nose is bleeding!" she frantically grabbed another cloth and kept cleaning up the blood on the lower half of Xena's face. He leaned in closer and saw she was still asleep. He sighed and shook his head.

Gabrielle finally returned to Cairo, this time it took her quite awhile to reach the palace due to the exhaustion of the horse. She unwrapped her head and saw Kora running towards her. She tucked the large scroll in her bag hanging over her shoulder. Kora came to her breathless and she frowned. "Xena...she has been hurt, we've been waiting for you!" she breathed heavily and Gabrielle's eyes widened. She didn't bother to listen to Kora any longer and ran down the hall as fast as she could.

She saw the guards posted outside Xena's room and she burst through the doors to see Eve and Solan hovering over Xena's body. She kept thinking that she was dead or dying and her heart stopped. She dropped her bag and came to the other side of the bed. Eve was thankful to finally see Gabrielle appear after her long strange and unneeded absence.

"Gabrielle! I'm so glad you're here! Why did you go to Alexandria?" Eve frowned. Gabrielle brushed her hand along Xena's cheek ignoring her question entirely. Eve understood Gabrielle's worry and fret so she let it slide this time. "She's been like this for hours now," she groaned, "she hasn't woken up or even moved a muscle!" she threw down the cloth on the bed once the bleeding stopped.

Gabrielle stood up putting her hands on her hips staring at the two offspring. "What happened?" she frowned.

Solan said nothing, after all he wasn't there. Eve sighed, not wishing to stare at Gabrielle's angry face. "A group of Persians came here and attacked everyone. She was hit in the back of her head by a Persian's sword!" she shook her head, not understanding anything. "I don't know why she didn't see it coming."

Gabrielle heard the word Persians and that sparked something inside her. "Why were the Persians here?" she glared at Eve and the princess remained quiet. "Eve...?"

The young princess shrugged, "I might have done something...something unforgivable." Now both Solan and Gabrielle stared at her disbelievingly. "That hostage I captured in Qin...is actually...the Persian King.." she mumbled.

"What?!" Solan and Gabrielle said in unison.

"I know!" Eve stood up becoming more frustrated at herself than the two blondes glaring at her. "It's all my fault that she's like this! I was trying to tell her...but she pushed me away!" she frowned.

Gabrielle rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Maybe if you would have listened to your mother then we wouldn't be in this situation!" she smiled mockingly and folded her arms. "You're so careless!" she spat and Eve's eyes widened. "Xena has done so much for you, Eve and you take it all for granted. I'm so disappointed in you."

Eve slumped her head down then ran out of the room, bumping into Solan on her way out. Gabrielle sat down on the bed looking down at her friend's peaceful face, it had been awhile since she saw that look on her face. Solan slowly retreated out of the room feeling that it was not his place to stay here anymore. "I'm going to check on the entitled princess..." he half joked and left the room closing the door behind him.

Gabrielle smiled and grabbed hold of Xena's limp hand, holding it tightly in her own. She kissed her knuckles and stared at her serene face once more. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you Xena," she sighed. "But I'm here now, just like I always am. A little late though..." she smiled weakly and she knew that Xena was not going to respond so she kept holding her hand tightly. "I found some information on the elixir," she whispered, talking to a wall practically. "I'm going to help you." She touched Xena's cheek softly and her skin radiated. "You always try to do fix things on your own. You never follow the rules," she chuckled quietly. "No, you make _your_ own rules." Her laughter died down and she frowned staring at Xena's practically lifeless body. She wasn't there, only her body was. "But this time I make the rules and I'm going to help you get out of whatever you've done to yourself." She left her side and went to pick up her bag with the large scroll and rolled it out onto the floor, pushing the heavy parchment across Xena's room.

She decided she would sit here for as long as it took until she knew everything about this elixir and its effects. Regardless of Ares' plan, she would find some kind of loophole even if she had to skip meals and stay up all night. She peered up at Xena on the bed still asleep, she knew she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon so this was the perfect time to get to the bottom of this stupid problem.

After looking at the first few paragraphs of the long text, the scroll must have been twenty feet long. This is going to take awhile, she told herself. "Why'd you do it, Xena?" she bit her bottom lip and pulled out a parchment and immediately began taking notes of the scroll in front of her.

* * *

Samuel, the young Persian King was on a ship on his way back to his kingdom across the Mediterranean Sea. He smiled as they sailed further away from Cairo. He could see the palace even from far away. He snapped his fingers at his right hand man. "I want to send a decree to Xena when we return." He tapped the railing lightly the young scribe began jotting down notes instantly. "I want her to know that I will take Egypt and her entire empire. She is growing old and cannot rule forever," he smirked then looked to his scribe. "Did you get all that?" the young man nodded his head then disappeared below the deck.

A tall Persian soldier approached his king and smiled. "I wounded the empress pretty badly, sir." Samuel eyed him cautiously and folded his arms, not quite sure to think of that.

"Will she live?" the king asked hopeful that Xena was not to die from a simple wound.

The soldier straightened himself thinking that was not high on his priority list. He could care less about Xena and her Greek empire. He wanted to Persia to rule Greece like it did long before Rome and long before Xena's expanding empire, though her empire was dying out slowly as the years passed by. "No your majesty. She will live, I'm sure of it."

Samuel nodded liking the sound of that. "Good, I don't need her daughter coming after me again if her mother dies," he chuckled. "Although," he rubbed his chin, "that might be interesting..."

The soldier agreed and chuckled lowly. The king slapped him on the back with a grand smile on his face. "We shall rule Greece like Persia used to hundreds of years ago! We shall be on top of the world again!" he sighed looking at the blue water before him on his giant ship. "I am such a better ruler than my father ever was." He snapped his fingers then made his way to his barracks below the deck. "Wake me when we arrive in Persia," he called out then disappeared.

* * *

Eve sat outside in the garden behind the palace by herself. She figured it would be the last place anyone would look to find her. She sighed and looked at all the greenery in the garden. It was something that reminded her of Athens. Her mother wanted to make her feel more at home and insisted that there would be a palace garden that filled the entire empty field. She didn't understand why her mother wanted to move to Cairo and she really hated it here. She had been living here for five years now and hadn't grown to love it like her mother said she would. She preferred Greece over any other place.

She heard some rustling in the bushes behind her and she stood up then saw a shadowy figure coming towards her. She then noticed the gold eyes staring at her and she rolled her eyes staring at the goddess, Eris, once again coming to torture her. Eris pouted and came around behind Eve, placing her hands on her shoulders. Eve cringed at her touch.

"Oh poor Evie," Eris tisked and had a devious smile planted on her lips. "Sorry about your mother, but like you said...it's your fault..isn't it?" she hissed in the princess's ear. "Yes, you did that to your mother and now she's experiencing every type of pain you could imagine in that state she's in..."

Eve gasped and Eris enjoyed the sadness radiating off her body. She fed off of it like a leach. "I can help you...if you let me," she whispered circling around Eve. She touched Eve's cheeks and felt the girl shiver.

Eve shook her head and took a step back. "I don't make deals with gods I don't trust." She folded her arms standing her ground. She might be at fault for her mother's condition but she wasn't going to give in to this goddess.

Eris raised her eyebrows, "oh but your mother did," she wagged her finger and sauntered around playfully then sat down on a stone bench staring up at the princess. "She looks different to you doesn't she?" she saw the realization in her eyes and she chuckled. "Yes, she made a deal with my brother, Ares."

Eve refused to believe that. Her mother hated Ares. "You're lying."

"Am I? I could take you...to him and he can tell you himself," she twirled a lock of her hair around her slender finger. Eve turned her back to the goddess, closing her eyes rethinking everything at this moment. She slithered over to Eve and grazed her fingernail over her arm. "Ares helps your mother get what she wants and I help you.."

Eve frowned, turning to face the goddess. "What exactly do you want from me?"

Eris laughed aloud, "I want to help you become an empress! The best empress that you could be! Better than your mother! Think of it...you could create a bigger empire, a better one but you need my help," she hissed. Eve shook her head still denying the goddess' words.

"My mother is still empress. This is her empire, not mine," Eve didn't want to listen to this woman's poisonous lies any longer so she left the gardens retreating back to the palace. Eris appeared in front of her stopping her in her tracks and she gasped.

Eris frowned deeply, "I can help your mother if you ally with me against my brother, Eve. I am the Goddess of Chaos! Together we can go against the God of War!"

Eve shook her head and brushed past the goddess rushing back into the palace as quickly as she could manage. Eris tapped her fingers on her arm and smirked watching the princess leave her side. "you will be mine," she disappeared in the shadows.

* * *

Xena woke up and saw she was still in Athens and it was morning already. She looked around and saw Gabrielle staring at her sitting on the edge of the bed. "Am I dead?"

Gabrielle smiled, "no, you just had too much to drink last night. You passed out."

Xena sat up in bed and felt her head pounding, she groaned and rubbed her temples trying to soothe her self-induced headache. "I'd rather be dead," she grumbled and Gabrielle blinked, then her head hung lowly not sure how to respond to that. She saw the solemn look on her friend's face and sighed, touching her hand warmly. "I didn't mean that but Gabrielle...I need to get out of here. I don't belong here anymore."

Gabrielle was sure that she'd be out of that kind of thinking but it appeared she was not. "I don't understand why you keep saying that!" she groaned and stood up pacing around the room. "I don't know if you're on some kind of mission to find yourself but it's starting to worry me..."

Xena folded her arms and kicked off the sheets, staring at the room that was once hers long ago. "Gabrielle, I know you don't understand but I don't belong here. I live in Egypt with you and Eve and Solan now." She sighed and saw the irritation rising in her friend's eyes. "Somehow...I am stuck here in this place again and I don't know if I am dreaming or not, or that I'm going crazy but.." she stared into her green eyes pleading innocence. "I need to go home."

Gabrielle huffed then sat next to Xena on her bed with her. "But you _are_ home, Xena." She touched her hand warmly. She stared into her blue eyes and she did seem very confused and lost. Perhaps she was telling the truth since she was acting so strange but the two had no explanation for it. Slowly she leaned in closer to Xena and she saw her eyes widen as she came closer. She then kissed Xena gently on the lips.

Xena's body tensed up then relaxed until Gabrielle pulled away. The blonde smiled at her, her cheeks blushing and Xena turned her eyes elsewhere, not sure what to think of what happened there. "I'll always be here for you, Xena. I hope you know that." Gabrielle stood up to leave and Xena sat in her bed, leaning against the headboard in shock. She had known Gabrielle to be affectionate towards her but not that intimate, or was she forgetting things? Was this more than a dream? Was this actually real, she wondered? Or was she stuck in another game hosted by the Olympians again?

She slapped herself and then shook her head, realizing that wasn't the smartest idea. She thought she'd be back in Egypt by now, but she wasn't. She was stuck here for whatever reason. Was she here for a second chance or was this all make-believe? She had no real explanation for it and what was even more strange was that Solan wasn't here and Eve ceased to exist. As far she remembered, that battle she had with Octavius, she was pregnant with Eve at the time and here, she wasn't, she was without both her children. All alone.

Was she still the tyrant that everyone believed her to be in this world? Or was she the changed Xena that Gabrielle made her to be over the years of being together? She couldn't wrap her head around it all, but her palace was lonely and quiet much like it was before Gabrielle arrived and here she was, and it was still bleak and lonely even when she was here.

 _Is this what it takes to win a war? To be lonely forever?_ Xena curled her legs close to her and stared blankly off into space rethinking all of her life decisions at this very moment. _This isn't a second chance, this is a nightmare._


	7. Chapter 7

_I can't see you, I can't hear you_  
Do you still exist?  
I can't feel you, I can't touch you,  
Do you exist?  
The Phantom Agony  
I can't taste you, I can't think of you,  
Do we exist at all?

_The future doesn't pass_  
And the past won't overtake the present  
All that remains is an obsolete illusion  
We are afraid of all the things that could not be  
A phantom agony  
Do we dream at night  
Or do we share the same old fantasy?  
I am a silhouette of the person wandering in my dream

_The age-old development of consciousness_  
Drives us away from the essence of life  
We meditate too much, so that our instincts will fade away  
They fade away  
  
What's the point of life  
And what's the meaning if we all die in the end?  
Does it make sense to learn or do we forget everything?

_Song: Epica –The Phantom Agony Part I & II_

_For Gabrielle_

_Chapter 7_

 

Three days later and Xena still had not awaken yet. Gabrielle remained in her bedroom on the floor trying to decipher the large mass of text before her. She hadn't come out of the room and she wasn't planning to until she found something but so far, she found nothing to help Xena. Kora came in occasionally to redress Xena's wounds and make sure her vitals were alright, which they were, but it was like she was dead or somewhat close to it.

Her breath was subtle and she laid there voiceless in her stillness. Gabrielle had never witnessed an injury so severe where Xena didn't come to. After taking notes for several hours early in the morning she waltzed over to the bed and sat down next to Xena. She brushed her dark hair with a solemn smile.

"I promise I'll find a way for you to be free from this..." she took out the vial and threw it onto the floor. "...this curse!" she growled then stood up pacing in front of Xena's bed occasionally looking over at Xena just to see if she'd respond, but she didn't. "Why won't you wake up?!" she yelled and Xena laid there motionless.

She ran to her and cupped Xena's cheeks in her hands shaking her. "We need you to wake up! _I_ need you to..." she stared at Xena's peaceful state and groaned in frustration. "Xena, can you hear me? I'll always be here for you. I know you can hear me, at least I hope you can... _please_ , Xena," she furrowed her brows and her eyes filled with tears as her friend remained unresponsive to her pleads.

Getting up she huffed and looked around the room. She needed a distraction and needed to entice a certain someone to come to her aid. She grabbed a vase and threw it at a nearby wall. The guards outside the room opened the door  once they heard the commotion and Gabrielle threw a chair at the door. The guard's eyes widened and he immediately shut the door.

She growled and then flipped over a table and all the plates smashed onto the floor and the wine glasses shattered everywhere. Smiling she picked up the elixir and held it high in the air, prepared to smash it.

Ares appeared in Xena's bedroom with an irate expression. He growled, "alright you got my attention, Gabrielle! Chill..." he saw her holding the vial and she grinned smugly.

She quickly grabbed one of Xena's swords off the wall and pointed it at the War God. "Look at her! What did you do to her?!" she grimaced and he held up his hands defensively. His eyes glanced over to the slumbering empress in her bed, completely unaware of his existence, though that wasn't new, even when she was awake, she ignored him.

He grinned, "she's fine, Gabrielle," he teased and she slashed his arm with the sword and he winced. Gabrielle's eyes widened and she saw she had drawn blood from the War God. He wiped the blood off on his vest and raised an eyebrow at her.

"You can bleed..." she said barely above a whisper. She came at him with the blade and he backed up bumping into the bed and fell next to Xena. "Fix her or I'll chop you up into pieces!" she growled.

Ares chuckled trying to save himself. He scooted away from Xena and stood up slowly. "Now, let's not get carried away here..." she thrust the sword forward and he backed up into a wall. "Gabrielle! Violence is not the way!"

Gabrielle chuckled, "that's funny coming from you," she inched closer and he couldn't go anywhere now, she had him cornered. "Tell me a way to fix her. _Now_." She frowned.

He grinned pleadingly, "I can't _fix_ her whatever that means in your little blonde head," he rolled his eyes and she let the sword slowly come down to her side. "That's better," he smirked. He slowly brought his hand to Xena's face and Gabrielle hoisted the blade up defensively. "Hey now! I'm just checking...relax, blondie." He winked and touched Xena's cheek softly with the backside of his hand. She eyed him carefully, wary of his touchy hands.

"Well, congratulations, she's alive," he smirked folding his arms and she stepped closer with blade in hand. He frowned and stared into the blonde's fiery green eyes. "I know you're upset...but whatever happened to Xena has affected me too!" he grimaced and Gabrielle scoffed. "I'm serious, Gabrielle!" he folded his arms and stared down at the sleeping empress. He then chuckled, "well whatever is going on inside of her, is not stagnant..."

She lowered the blade with a raised eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Do I look like a fortune teller to you?" he mocked. "She has her own war she's fighting, Gabrielle," he sighed.

Gabrielle looked to her raven haired companion with a sadness in her eyes. "How can we wake her? She can't stay like this forever!"

Ares put his hand over Xena preventing Gabrielle from coming any closer. "Don't try to wake her Gabrielle or risk the consequences." He said lowly and she grimaced at him. She didn't know what that meant and she was sure that he didn't know either. Walking to the scroll on the floor she knelt by it and looked over her mass of notes on many scrolls. He folded his arms cocking his head to the side staring at the large scroll. "What's this now, you playing with magic?" he teased.

"It's a scroll about the stupid elixir you gave her. I don't know what you said to make her use it...but I'll find a way out of it, eventually..." she sighed staring at the large amount of information before her. She flipped through her notes and pointed at a paragraph reading silently to herself. She stood up staring at the War God and he folded his arms. "It says that she can experience hallucinations. Is this true? It's that's what's happening to her right now?"

Ares rolled his eyes, "slow down with your questions. To be honest," he chuckled, "I don't know the effects of the elixir. I got from the Muse, Erato on Mount Parnassus."

She folded her arms, "I want you to take me there right now!" she demanded.

He laughed loudly, "and _why_ would I do that?"

Gabrielle smirked smugly and twirled the blade in her hand, "I'll make sure you'll never be able to have sex again," her eyebrows raised and she saw the God's face pale instantly. "Right. So take me there, would you?" she playfully smiled and he growled then waved his hand and both disappeared from Xena's bedroom.

* * *

 

Xena strode down the long corridor upstairs and Racha was coming towards her with a document in hand. "Empress, this came for you –"

Xena waved her hand dismissing the woman, "don't call me empress, I freed you a long time ago," she brushed past her and swiftly made her way downstairs leaving Racha very confused.

As she made her way downstairs she found Gabrielle sitting down by herself writing something, of course, she mused. She changed into her black blouse and pants then tapped Gabrielle's shoulder. The blonde looked up and saw she had changed. "Feeling better?" she asked the empress.

Xena shook her head, "not really. I want to go to Rome right now." She folded her arms defensively and Gabrielle stood up with a bemused face.

"To Rome?" she repeated. "Why would you want to go there? Octavius hates you."

She sighed rolling her eyes. "Yes, yes, I know he hates me. Old news. Anyway, I want to go there to see Solan. He belongs here with me and if I can't have Eve then I can at least have him in this awful nightmare." She huffed and Gabrielle took a step closer to her causing Xena to tense up.

"that's enough of this charade Xena. We're not going to Rome and you're not ever going to see Solan again," Gabrielle harshly put it, but it was the truth.

Xena felt that she lost a bit of herself when Gabrielle said that to her. "Wh... _what_? What do you mean I'll never see him again?" she shook Gabrielle and the blonde slapped her hands away from her, shocking Xena.

Gabrielle frowned becoming frustrated with her friend. "I don't know what's wrong with you lately but you're making me angry. Just stop doing this, Xena and act like yourself!"

"No _you_ don't understand! I'm acting like myself but you're not, Gabrielle! None of this is real!" she smiled mockingly and gestured to the empty palace. "This is not how it's supposed to be! This place is depressing, look at it!" she yelled. "We turned my palace into a school...don't you remember Gabrielle?" she pleaded and her friend looked so lost. "Don't you remember?" her eyes swelled with tears and her hand reached to Gabrielle's cheek.

Gabrielle took a step backward away from the empress. "That never happened, Xena," she exhaled heavily trying to calm her anger rising inside her. "Tell you what, I'm going to leave the palace for awhile so you can...sort out whatever is going on in your head then I'll come back." She took off and Xena's mouth gaped.

She turned to see her leaving her all alone, once again. "You can't leave me, Gabrielle! You're supposed to be here with me, like you said...!" she called out but Gabrielle ignored her. "Gabrielle!"

Deciding to take matters in her own hands she grabbed a horse and rode off by herself to Rome to see what Gabrielle meant by she was never going to see Solan again. But first, she would make a stop inside the inner city of Athens to see the state of her people. She hadn't been to Athens in many years and trusted that everything was fine there, but in this alternate life, she wasn't sure what it had in store for her.

* * *

 

She trotted into the city of Athens and saw that her people were not suffering, but they were not wealthy either like she left them years ago. She had completely renovated the city last time she lived here but this...this was a complete mess and she saw the fear in their eyes.

Dismounting the horse she pulled on the reins and made her way through the city. Many people made way for her and shot her fearful glances or hateful ones. She didn't like that her people hated her. She worked very hard to regain their trust over the years and that was no easy task, but last time she was here, everyone loved her and they weren't afraid of her anymore.

She saw a few children playing outside in a large courtyard and she smiled at them, finally seeing children. They saw her approaching and grabbed their toys and ran from her. Frowning she left her horse and saw a child fall to the ground. Running towards the young boy she helped him up and he cowered in fear.

"Are you alright?" she asked sweetly kneeling down to his eye level and the boy stared up into her eyes pushing back a scream. "I'm not going to hurt you," she smiled. She picked up the boy's wooden toys and handed it to him.

He took the toys and hugged them to his chest. Suddenly his mother came up to her and he ran to her, hugging to his mother's skirt, hiding behind her. Xena stood up and took a good look around, many eyes were on her and she sighed. The woman smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry Empress, he was just playing outside and I wasn't watching him..."

Xena grinned, "you don't need to be apologize to me. He didn't do anything wrong," she peered at the fearful child as he hid behind his mother. The woman and her boys left to go back to their home and Xena folded her arms glancing around what a horrible place this was. Gabrielle would be so upset to see something like this, she told herself, shaking her head at the tragedy of it all. Then she remembered that this wasn't real, or perhaps it was and she was just crazy? Was she sent back in time to be cursed to relive this life of a conqueror once again? She mounted her horse and took off to go to Rome like she said she would.

* * *

 

Gabrielle and Ares arrived to Mount Parnassus like he promised. She felt a bit strange being here as she was mortal and suspiciously she began to think that Ares was too, or at least half mortal because he could bleed. Or unless Xena had a sword forged by Hephaestus himself and she didn't say anything, which was highly unlikely.

Terpsichore smiled and pranced over to the two guests. "Oooo, Ares! You brought a mortal!" she circled around Gabrielle. "And she's so cute too!"

Ares smirked and Gabrielle nudged him in the ribs and he surprisingly winced. Gabrielle grabbed the muse's arm tightly. "I'm not here for cute small talk. I want to talk to you about this," she presented the elixir and Terpsichore gasped. All the other Muses saw the elixir and began whispering among themselves.

The svelte muse admired the elixir then grabbed Gabrielle's hand leading her to Erato's corner. "She can help you with that," she pushed Gabrielle forward and she groaned not liking being pushed around like some kind of a toy for these Muses.

She saw Erato talking with someone and Gabrielle recognized him easily. It was Cupid, Aphrodite's son. She rolled eyes and snapped her fingers trying to get the muse's attention. Erato frowned and then saw a mortal standing there with the elixir in her hand. She pushed Cupid off her barely covered body and sauntered over to Gabrielle. "What are you doing with that?" she smiled sweetly.

Gabrielle folded her arms, "I want you to tell me what this does to mortals."

Erato giggled, "I can't tell you that. You're not the giver of the elixir. If I seem to recall...I gave it to Ares," she tapped her chin checking to make sure she remembered that correctly.

Gabrielle nodded then went to grab the God of War. She ushered him to the muse and Erato's smile grew as soon as she saw him. She put her hands on her wide hips staring at the God before her. She playfully twirled her finger in her long red locks. Ares smirked at her and Gabrielle felt sick watching these two.

"Okay get on with it. He's here now explain what this does to mortals," Gabrielle interrupted their little party and Erato frowned at her.  

The muse of love sat down shrugging her shoulder nonchalantly. "Depends on the mortal. It's different for everyone."

Gabrielle slapped her forehead out of frustration. Ares chuckled at her demise and received a glare from her so he stopped laughing. "The person who used it had a bit of an accident...she was hit in the head and hasn't woken up for days."

Erato nodded, taking it all in. "Has this person had any hallucinations?"

"Not that I know of." Gabrielle folded her arms wanting to get on with this silly charade.

"I see..." Erato stood up and wrapped a silk robe around her body and ran her fingers through her hair. "Well, if she has already used it which obviously she has," she smiled, "the wound on her head is not what is keeping her from waking up." She poured some wine for Cupid and handed it to him as she winked at him. She turned around to Gabrielle and Ares again. "You can't wake her up, only she can do that herself." Gabrielle didn't like to hear that, which meant that Xena was fine, which was good news, but she was stuck inside her mind with no help whatsoever.

"How can I help her?" Gabrielle begged.

Erato sipped on her wine and sighed heavily, "well you could use the elixir on yourself..." she grinned mischievously, "but only if you're willing to do it. It doesn't work unless _you're_ willing to use it."

Gabrielle wasn't understanding this muse's words. "How will that help her?"

"Well...." Erato trailed off not sure how to say this. "If you use it, you could go in her mind with her." Gabrielle now understood what she was saying, but still, how would she do that. "But," she held up her finger. "You need an Olympian willing to help you and it can't be him," she pointed at Ares with a large smirk.

Gabrielle frowned at Ares and he scoffed. "As if I'd ask _him_ for help." She sighed and turned her attention back to the muse. "When I use this...how will a god help me after that?"

Erato shrugged, "don't know, that's up to you. That's all got. I have to go now, it has been fun talking to you mortal," she winked at them both then went to tend to Cupid.

* * *

 

Ares brought Gabrielle back to Xena's room and she was still in the same state that she was before they left. Gabrielle stared at the elixir and saw Ares eyeing her cautiously. "Why are you still here?" she chided. The War God rolled his eyes and disappeared without a trace. She sat down on the floor staring at the bottle in her hand. _Who will help me_?

She immediately thought of Aphrodite and thought she'd be willing to help or at least maybe the thought of it. Gabrielle ran out of the bedroom in search of Eve. She went to Eve's room and found her alone, sharpening a blade that didn't really need any sharpening at all.

Eve saw Gabrielle enter her room and she averted her eyes. "Are you still upset at me?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Gabrielle didn't care about that right now. "Eve, I need you to do something for me," she came to sit next to her and Eve set down the blade on her bed. She awaited for Gabrielle's request and stared into her hands and saw a bottle. She frowned, quite confused. "I need you to tell Aphrodite to come here."

Eve stood up, "why do you need her?" she raised a questioning brow.

"Please, Eve. She loves you, she's like your...other mother," Gabrielle weakly smiled. "I need her to help me so I can wake Xena up." She pleaded.

Now Gabrielle and Eve stood in Xena's room staring at the basically lifeless empress. Eve sighed then folded her arms staring at the bottle in Gabrielle's hands. "Okay, I'll tell her to come here but what is that?" she eyed the vial.

Gabrielle didn't want to explain but if she didn't then Eve probably wouldn't comply with her. "It's an elixir of youth...Xena used it for whatever reason I don't know...but she's stuck somewhere and Erato said –"

"Erato? The Muse of Love?" Eve was now truly confused and why would her mother use that? That didn't sound like her but now it explained why she looked so different to her when she saw her. "Just explain it to me later.." she smiled at Gabrielle, figuring that she was suffering enough.

Gabrielle was thankful that Eve was being compliant with her. She waited patiently as Eve stood there closing her eyes, calling upon the Love Goddess.

Aphrodite appeared dressed in all black, not pink like normally was. Her appearance shocked them both and Eve's eyes widened. The goddess looked at the two then saw Xena lying on her bed. "What happened to Xena?" she frowned.

"Why...are you dressed like that?" Eve said without acknowledging her question about her mother.

Aphrodite looked at Xena and folded her arms. Gabrielle was still shocked to see Aphrodite look so dark and gloomy instead of her cheerful self. "You know, I had a feeling something was off when Ares came to me." The goddess rolled her eyes.

"Ares came to see you?" Gabrielle was truly bemused now.

Aphrodite saw the bottle in Gabrielle's hand and her eyes widened then she snatched it out of her hands. "Did Xena use this?" she shook her head, "now I understand what Ares was talking about!" she frowned. "Ares is so stupid!" she groaned and sat down on Xena's bed holding the elixir in her hand. "He threatened Xena with this. That is one of the rules!"

Gabrielle remembered that when she went to see Abas in Alexandria. Threats and willingness and Xena was neither, obviously, especially if Aphrodite knew about it. She must have been linked to it since she is rather friendly with Erato. "What does this mean?"

The goddess shook her head over and over. "He didn't think about the consequences. If you use this wrongly...he could lose his godhood," she sighed.

Now that made sense to Gabrielle since she was able to draw blood from him awhile ago. "And what about you?" she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer to that.

Aphrodite frowned, "without war there cannot be love either," her head hung lowly.

Eve became irritated. "Well, do something about this! This is ridiculous and my mother has been like this for days! We need to help her!"

Gabrielle nodded agreeing with the princess. She sat down next to Aphrodite. "Erato told me that if I take this _willing_ ," she stressed, "you can help me with...Xena," she hoped she would.

Aphrodite's eyes widened, "hey blondie, that's not a good idea. You two could be stuck in an alternate world, which it looks like Xena is there right now..." she eyed the empress as she lay there silently, though her mind did otherwise.

"I don't care. I want to help her. Please, Aphrodite? I don't have anyone else..." Gabrielle begged and grabbed the goddess' hand tightly.

Aphrodite looked at Eve then at Gabrielle again. She sighed, relenting to help all of them.

Gabrielle stared at the bottle and opened it. immediately an aroma filled the room and it was definitely enticing. She could understand why Xena was bewitched into this, although she had help. She would have to get Ares later. Aphrodite instructed her to lay down next Xena and pour a few drops on her wrist, just as Xena had done. Gabrielle stared at Xena and exhaled, slowly pouring the elixir on her wrist.

It soon dissolved into her skin and she didn't feel any different so far. She grabbed Xena's hand and Aphrodite told her to close her eyes then she placed each hand on Gabrielle's and Xena's foreheads, linking the two together.

Eve stood afar and watched as Aphrodite sent Gabrielle off to do something either very brave or very stupid. She didn't want to lose them both. Gabrielle let out a loud breath then went quiet, her head lolling to the side, close to Xena's.

Aphrodite doubled over exhausted and Eve grabbed hold of her. "Are you alright?" Eve asked. The goddess felt like she was losing more of herself and that took too much out of her.

"Yeah...is this what it feels like to be mortal?" she smiled lamely and Eve's eyes widened. She helped the goddess sit down in a chair and knelt beside her holding her hand.

"will...Gabrielle be able to help mother?" Eve whispered. Aphrodite shook her head unknowingly.

* * *

 

Gabrielle woke up in a bed and glanced around the room. This wasn't Egypt, it was Athens back in Xena's old palace. Quickly she got up and exited the room she saw the palace was void of people, nobody was here, no children. _Xena, where are you_?

She waltzed through the halls and saw Racha watering some plants inside the atrium. She ran towards her and Racha smiled at her. "Have you seen Xena?"

Racha frowned, "she told you that she was going to Rome..." first Xena's strange behavior and now Gabrielle. What is going on, she thought?

Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear. "To Rome?" she put her hands on her hips deciding what to do next. "When did she leave?"

"Well just a few hours ago, Gabrielle –" Racha saw her take off running and she sighed, shaking her head at this strangeness that surrounded her.

_I will find you, Xena._

 

_The lucidity of my mind has been revealed in new dreams_  
I am able to travel where my heart goes  
In search of self-realization  
  
This is the way to escape from our agitation  
And develop ourselves  
Use your illusion and enter my dream...

_Song: Epica –The Phantom Agony Part III_

_For Xena_

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

_You were my first love_   
_The earth moving under me_   
_Bedroom scent, beauty ardent_   
_Distant shiver, heaven sent_

_I'm the snow on your lips_   
_The freezing taste, the silvery sip_   
_I'm the breath on your hair_   
_The endless nightmare, devil's lair_

_Only so many times_   
_I can say I long for you_   
_The lily among the thorns_   
_The prey among the wolves_

_Someday, I will feed a snake_   
_Drink her venom, stay awake_   
_With time all pain will fade_   
_Through your memory I will wade_

_Barely cold in her grave_   
_Barely warm in my bed_   
_Settling for a draw tonight_   
_Puppet girl, your strings are mine_

_Song: Nightwish – Feel For You_

_From Gabrielle to Xena_

**AN: quite an emotional overdrive in this one. Very dense.**

_Chapter 8_

Gabrielle rode through Athens and saw the massive change in the city. If Xena was here she could only imagine what she was going through when she laid eyes upon this tragedy. She had worked so hard, they had worked so hard, to change this city for the better, but it was like she stepped back into time, only it was awful. Athens was a thriving city and known for its education and multiple opportunities. It was almost as if Athens had remained much of the same more than a decade ago as Gabrielle remembered. These people used to fear Xena and now they loved her and though it took many years for Xena to accomplish that, it was well worth the effort. Now as Gabrielle laid her eyes on the distraught city and people, she hated seeing herself in this distorted land. Nothing had changed and it was like time had stood still or perhaps it was moving too fast? She needed to catch up to Xena but that was unlikely at the rate she was going.

Racha informed her that Xena left hours ago, but Gabrielle didn't know when she left and how long she had been riding. Xena was always a better horseman than she could ever be. She could ride for hours on end without stopping only because she was on a mission and usually it was an important one at that. She pulled on the horse's reins and trotted off beyond the city borders to catch up to Xena as fast as she could.

Knowing Xena she would be half way to the edge of the Greek border because of her excellent time management. Gabrielle had spent many years with Xena and even though they had grown so close, she still had much to learn from her. Xena had so many great qualities about her but she failed to acknowledge them. She was a great empress, a kind person albeit a bit misguided in the beginning, she prevailed and pushed through to see the light in her dark path, which Gabrielle had to give herself at least some credit for that.

Gabrielle believed that she was Xena's light, though she kept this to herself, too embarrassed to bring this up to Xena even after almost two decades of sharing a life together. As she trotted through this alternate world she wondered if Xena was a bit miffed to be here. She imagined that Xena would have a panic attack and maybe that was why she decided to go to Rome? She didn't understand why Xena was sent back in time, especially to her home in Athens, of all places. She expected to be transported into some kind of scene of Tartarus, but she supposed in Xena's mind, this place was a Hellfire.

This world reminded Xena of everything she used to be, the awful person she used to be and to be put back into it like nothing ever happened must have frightened her. Gabrielle frowned, continuing to ride along far from the rural villages, ignoring the confused glances by the villagers. She knew the path that Xena took to Rome all too well and she even knew her favorite resting spots too. She knew that she would have to ride this horse to death in order to catch up to Xena. Hoping that Xena had stopped to rest a bit, she would find her and guide her through this world.

It was rather strange being here again. It was as if she were just a scribe and or slave to Xena again and she grew up a lot during that short period. After Xena had seen she was a tyrant the closeness between them grew stronger and a lot happened in that year. Both Xena and Gabrielle faced many hardships together and alone as well. So many wars, bloodshed and destruction was held in the Greek Empire. Gabrielle wasn't even sure if Xena wanted to defeat the Romans anymore. She believed that she was not focused on them anymore as she had shown lack of interest.

She then thought of the fifteen year long secret that Xena kept from her and that instantly cut deep. She felt that Xena had betrayed her and she did it again when she used this stupid elixir given to her by Ares. She wanted to understand why Xena took it and maybe if she found out why, she could forgive her for her selfish actions. Xena was not known to be very selfless, although she had gotten better as she grew older with age.

After Xena left Athens years after the final war with Octavius, she didn't want to show her face anymore. Gabrielle knew that battle was a hard, devastating blow to her ego and entire empire. She wasn't the best any longer and Gabrielle saw in Xena's eyes that she was defeated and ashamed of herself. Eve had a point and that was that Xena belonged in Athens not in Cairo. She only moved to Egypt because of her crushed ego and shame she brought upon herself –creating a dark cloud constantly hovering over her head. If only she knew what secret Xena kept for all those years perhaps she wouldn't have lost, perhaps she would have been more focused and won the last war?

Xena had lost herself after that last war between the Greek and Roman empires. She wasn't angry that she lost, she was sad, which only meant one thing –defeat. Gabrielle knew that Xena did not accept defeat, it just wasn't in her vocabulary. Xena was conquered and once a long time ago she _was_ the conqueror, the destroyer of nations, the tyrant empress, the cold hearted Thracian witch. Now, Xena wasn't any of those things, she was just an empress that was losing her empire. Gabrielle knew that cut deep into Xena's soul. She hated to see her companion lost and alone even if she were surrounded by a sea of people, Xena acted alone, she was alone, for so long. Gabrielle had no idea how Xena felt all these years, keeping that awful vision to herself, but she was going to make sure that vision didn't come to light and she needed to get them both out of this nightmare before it was too late.

Two hours later Gabrielle finally arrived to the border of Greece and there was no sign of Xena. She had passed two resting spots awhile back and Xena wasn't there, which meant she was riding her horse to death all the way to Rome, or perhaps she'd buy a new one after the other horse had grown too exhausted.

She halted the horse and saw many guards standing at the border between the Roman Empire and Greece's. The guards were obviously Greek and she thought that she was well known so she tried to pass through but all the guards put up their spears at her head. She frowned and reached down in her boot to pull out one of her Sais.

"Did Xena come through here?" she asked calmly, trying to contain her frustration with these ridiculous guards.

The soldier in the middle smirked, "she came through here an hour ago. Why are you trying to leave the Greek Empire?" he asked questionably.

Gabrielle felt the need to laugh at this man's question. "I need to find her. This is very important!" she growled. The guards wouldn't budge so she sighed heavily and threw the Sais into the guard's chest and kicked a few out of her way so she could pass through them.

Quickly she grabbed the Sais sticking out of the man's chest and rode off beyond the Greek border trailing into Roman territory now. She looked back and saw a few men throwing their spears at her. Instinctively she ducked her head and rode off West to find Xena. She knew she'd have to be very careful being in Roman territory now, though the Greek soldiers weren't very nice to her, which she thought odd since she was very close to the empress. Later thoughts, she told herself, _for now I find Xena and I seek answers later._

Though her memory was foggy she did seem to recall Xena putting soldiers at Greece's border to section them off from the Romans. Though, it didn't last very long after the war in the poppy fields. She smiled thinking of that chaotic battle. Xena won, they both won, but it wasn't easy and there were many obstacles in their way that they both had to overcome. Gabrielle didn't want Xena to face those same obstacles again.

* * *

After a few hours of riding some more towards Rome she saw a campfire while the sun was just about to set. She figured that it was Xena and she remained hopeful. She hopped of the horse and walked the remainder of the way just in case it wasn't Xena and she had to hurry out of there.

She approached the campfire slowly and saw Xena sitting by herself and appeared to be writing something down on a scroll which was rather odd for her. She never wrote anything and if she did, her horrid grammar would surely frustrate her in the end. Gabrielle tied the horse to a tree far away from the camp and expected Xena to instantly acknowledge her presence but she was so focused, or rather distracted it seemed like.

Taking another step closer Xena remained focused and intensely writing at a very fast pace completely ignoring her surroundings. Gabrielle felt sadness for her dear lifelong friend. She was so lost in her own world that she was not acting like herself. A solemn smile graced her lips and she leaned on a nearby tree observing the fallen empress writing to her heart's content.

"Xena..." she whispered and suddenly Xena turned to see her standing by a tree. Gabrielle smiled warmly at her and then Xena instantly frowned at her, almost as if she was unhappy to see her. Gabrielle felt her heart sink to her stomach at Xena's reaction. She tread closer to her cautiously then sat down next to her on the grassy ground while Xena sat on a blanket she laid out on the ground.

"You decided to come to Rome after you berated me and told me not to come," Xena scoffed. "You're the one who isn't acting normal, it's not me!" she griped then threw the scroll off to the side.

Gabrielle could feel the anxiety in Xena's voice and wanted to comfort her not to yell at her. Whatever happened before she got here must have really struck her in a negative way. She wanted to help Xena understand that she was not alone and she too was in this alternate world with her, forever always, never alone, no matter what Xena said to herself.

So instead of inciting the issue she remained stoic and calm about everything. Whatever Xena had dealt with these last few days in this world obviously was making Xena lose her sanity, she could tell. She pointed to the discarded scroll with a soft smile, "what were you writing?"

Xena rubbed her cheek anxiously and steered clear of Gabrielle's sudden warmth. A few hours ago she was opposed to everything she wanted and probably thought she was crazy, now she was here sitting by her acting completely different towards her. She had done a complete 360 in behavior and action. "It was nothing...I was just writing down my thoughts," she mumbled.

Gabrielle nodded and decided not to pry anymore. She thought it'd be best to connect with Xena on another level, something that would make her happy or at least lift her out of her dark cloud. The little time she was in the palace she noticed that the large fortress was bleak and lonely, not like when they left it. It was turned into a school and though she didn't know what period of time she was being thrust back into, it was obviously way before the school for children, or was it?

She smiled in silence as Xena sat awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. "Athens is not how I remember it," she began and Xena's eyes widened at that. "The people were so fearful and poor like they were many years ago..." she trailed off then Xena turned her eyes towards her. Gabrielle saw the look of realization in her eyes and her grin widened as her friend finally understood that she was not crazy or alone.

"Gabrielle...?" Xena felt the need to say her name to wake her from this awful nightmare. This was _her_ Gabrielle, not the one back in the palace who constantly fought against her and knew nothing of her memories back in Athens so long ago.

"I told you I would never leave you, Xena and I meant that," Gabrielle's eyes sparkled and Xena's face erupted with happiness and immediately embraced her, wrapping her arms tightly around her friend's body, holding her close. Finally no longer feeling alone in this strange world that she was in, Gabrielle was there for her, just like she always told her.

Gabrielle closed her eyes allowing Xena to hold her as long as possible. It was so strange to see her like this, so vulnerable that is. Her appearance was just as she was many years ago, but she wasn't the tyrant she was, she never will be _again_. Xena pulled away from the warm much needed embrace and Gabrielle saw tears swelling in Xena's eyes. She rubbed her thumb across her cheek and Xena smiled warmly.

"How...how did you find me here?" Xena managed to say trying to pull back her shakiness that completely engulfed her entire body.

Gabrielle sighed heavily, "that is a long story, but in short, I had Aphrodite help me get to me to this place," she gestured to their current surroundings. Xena didn't really understand what that meant and furrowed her eyebrows in utter bemusement. Gabrielle saw that Xena was completely oblivious which was not good, she had no idea what was going on in the real world in Egypt right now. "Xena, do you know what is going on in Cairo right now?"

Xena shook her head and ran her fingers through her long dark hair. "I...I just woke up in Athens one day with no logical explanation. You were there...but I wasn't, at least not mentally. I thought I was sent back in time because of Ares." She stared into Gabrielle's concerned eyes. "What?" she half smiled, a bit worried of her companion's expression.

She twiddled her thumbs in her lap and Xena took notice immediately. This was something that Gabrielle did when she became nervous or apprehensive when chaos was brewing. "Xena...you've been unconscious for the last four days. A Persian soldier hit you in the head and you never woke up."

Xena couldn't believe she was hearing this. It was like it was new information to her and she had no idea. "I don't remember any of that," she groaned and held her head in her hands out of frustration. For a moment she felt like she wasn't crazy and now it was all back again. She had no recollection of this injury and now she truly questioned if she was dreaming or not, but she couldn't be because Gabrielle was here too which didn't make a lick of sense in her mind. "Are you injured too? Is that why you're here?" she felt her breath quicken as her mind raced.

Gabrielle shook her head, "no I'm fine. Eve and Aphrodite are overseeing the process, or whatever you want to call it," she half smiled lamely. "Xena, this place is real because you're allowing it to be real. It's just an awful reminder of what you used to be!" she grabbed Xena's hand and squeezed it tightly.

The empress scoffed mockingly, "so this all just some big joke?" she stood up slipping her hand from underneath Gabrielle's. she began to pace anxiously as her arms were folded, she began biting her fingernail out of nerves. "How can we get out of here, Gabrielle? This life is different. I won that war with you when Octavius decided not to heed my words. And Eve ceases to exist here..." an overwhelming sadness overcame her as she thought of her daughter, then of course Solan. He was not in her grasp here, he was still in Rome, which is something that had been resolved so long ago. She wondered what they were all doing in Egypt right about now and if anything disastrous was going on while she was "asleep" as she lightly put it.

The blonde folded her arms thinking about what Xena said and this indeed was not a dream, it was an alternate reality, but why? Why go through all of this trouble? Obviously it was connected with the elixir but Gabrielle wasn't so sure that was the cause of it all. There had to be something else, some other force at work here and it wasn't Ares that's for sure, because he was suffering too from this stupid elixir of youth he enticed Xena with.

This was a long shot but she had to offer something to aid in this weird situation. "Maybe you were sent here to correct this place? Like you had it before you left Athens?"

Xena raised a questionable eyebrow at her friend. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would I be sent here to correct things that I have never done? Eve isn't here and neither is Solan! My people hate me and Octavius has surrendered. This is not what I did all those years ago. Things are different here!"

She plopped down onto the blankets again and now the sun had set, everything was dark. Once again she felt her world was enclosing on her again –pure darkness, much like her heart in the past. "Was I sent here as a punishment?" she began rambling on all the possible things that racked her brain. "If so, who sent me here and how can I leave this place?" she looked into the starry sky questioning every life decision she had ever made. "Is this a sign that I should go home...back to Athens? Where I belong..." she mumbled as she thought of her daughter's words that were said to her before this giant mess. She shook her head and buried her face in her hands. "Is this a test by the Fates? Am I and always will be, the awful tyrant that everyone believes me to be?"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes, getting sick of hearing Xena's pity party she was throwing by herself. "Stop that, Xena. You're not the person you once were. You're not a conqueror anymore...remember?" she stared into Xena's blank blue eyes. "And you're never going back there! This place is only here to remind you of all the horrible things you've done, nothing more, nothing less." She smiled, hoping Xena would come into the light.

Although Xena heard her words, she didn't listen to them. Instantly she became enraged at herself and the entirety of the situation. "If it's so awful then...why are you here?" she said quietly as her rage began to die as Gabrielle kept her eyes glued to her every move.

She shrugged lightly, not really knowing the answer to her ambiguous question. "Perhaps I am here to remind you of how far you've come." She grinned and Xena bobbed her head slowly, neither agreeing or disagreeing. "Xena," she began tersely, "you're the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't tell you that enough because perhaps," she chuckled, "I have taken you for granted." Xena eyed her, a bit surprised to hear that come out of her mouth. Though, she knew that Gabrielle was quite philosophical and poetic with her words, she hadn't heard something like that come from her in quite a long time. It was a sweet reminder that she truly had Gabrielle in her heart, more than a friend or a companion. She was much more than that, she knew that.

Xena remained quiet allowing Gabrielle's words to sink in. Gabrielle began once more, "when I saw you lying in your bed...like _that_ ," she lowered her eyes. "You looked dead. You were unresponsive. It was like you were there but you weren't," she grunted, not sure she was getting her point across. "I thought you were going to wake up at any moment, but you never did..." she trailed off.

"Gabrielle, I thought we went over this before," Xena showcased a jesting smile. "If I was going to die, I'd tell you," she winked and held onto her hand tightly. Gabrielle shook her head, wiping her eyes from the incandescent tears. She always thought Xena made jokes at such inappropriate times and she would never want Xena to change her sense of humor, even if it wasn't welcomed. "It is so strange being in this place," Xena announced, delightfully changing the subject. "I thought I could escape my failures when I left Athens, but it always seems to haunt me and you're always here..." she grinned scooting closer to Gabrielle.

The blonde nodded then a few silent moments passed. She thought she should ask this question and it might help them both leave this dreadful place. "Xena...what made you want to use the elixir? Ares threatened you, I know he did."

Suddenly the mood became stagnant and Xena did not want to answer that question. She wanted to avoid it but that was unlikely especially since Gabrielle could be so pushy sometimes for good reason, though. She sighed heavily, thinking everything over in her head. "Ares told me...he would use Eve for his own gain and you too if I did not comply..."

Silence.

Xena stared at Gabrielle and immediately felt the fire within her growing, though she contained her anger very well, not like her. "Gabrielle, I didn't know what to do," she covered her mouth and stared into the giant flames before her. "I have lied to you many times, Gabrielle and I'm sorry. I lied to you for fifteen years simply because I thought I could ignore it, but obviously that didn't work. I...don't even understand myself sometimes," she sadly admitted.

"You hurt me," Gabrielle blurted out. Now it was time for Xena to be quiet and sit in silence as well as shock. She turned to her empress friend with a subtle frown on her face. "You lied to me without good reason. You didn't have to lie to me, Xena. You could have come and told me what Ares showed you in that stupid vision of his all those years ago, but you didn't." she turned her attention to the campfire avoiding Xena's icy eyes. "you could have told me what Ares said to you and refused to use the elixir, but you didn't, once again."

Xena grumbled, "Gabrielle, I was put under a lot of pressure!" her anger getting the best of her and Gabrielle slowly turned to face her with an incredulous look.

"Are you kidding me? Xena, when are you _not_ under pressure?!" she spat back forcefully, deciding not to take any more of Xena's excuses. "I came here to help you clean up the mess you've made for yourself!" she stood up and Xena grabbed hold of her wrist. She snapped her head around and snatched her arm away from her. "Maybe I have come here to make you realize how selfish you can be, Xena."

Xena shook her head. This was going for a bad turn, she thought. "No Gabrielle, no I –"

"No, what? Xena," she sighed closing her eyes trying to calm herself. "I love you and care about you, but you seem to have lost your way and I –"

Xena stood up and placed her hands on Gabrielle's shoulders, interrupting her. "You _are_ my way, Gabrielle."

"What?" she managed to utter, not quite understanding Xena's words. Out of all the years of being together, she was never so expressive and usually she would get angry and throw a fit about being in the wrong and not admitting it, but this was different.

"I lost myself when I came to Egypt ten years ago. I was so focused on myself and my own ego that I did not stop to think about anyone else," Xena admitted and felt a bit embarrassed. She saw the shocked look on Gabrielle's face which made her want to laugh, but she kept it to herself. "I put a wall between myself and everyone else, especially you, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle stared at Xena's flushed cheeks and a subtle smirk came to her. "So...is this your apology for fifteen years of crap?" she jested. Xena smirked, hiding her quiet laugh beneath her breath.

She shrugged, "I think I owe you more than an apology, but..I'm sorry," she blinked and Gabrielle wanted to stay mad at her, but she couldn't and it was obvious that Xena was lost and had been lost for quite some time. She finally saw her old self emerge from the dark pits within her mind. Her mind was definitely her enemy.

Xena somehow felt like that was enough to set themselves free of this place but nothing happened and she felt the same. Gabrielle saw a pensive look in her eyes and raised a questioning brow. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we're never going to get out of here. This place _is_ real, Gabrielle..." her eyes surveyed the area feeling very unsafe at this moment. "Which is either a really good thing or a bad thing.." she frowned and unsheathed her sword, sensing a presence nearby. Gabrielle pulled out her Sais from her boots and trailed behind Xena at a fair distance.

Xena crept out into the darkness as she heard rustling in the trees. She knew that this was Roman territory and she was trespassing here technically but this was far away from Rome and far from Octavius' guards posted at the border. She knew he wouldn't send men this far out just to scope the area, it would have been a foolish move on his part.

Gabrielle came closer to Xena and snapped her head around in all directions wary of anybody nearby. "Would you...go back and do it all over again, if you had the chance?" she whispered.

Xena frowned at Gabrielle's question. This wasn't the time for philosophical bullshit, she told herself. She ignored her question and walked further into the darkness no longer hearing anything. Lowering her weapon she felt a stabbing pain in her side and it spread to the pit of her stomach. Frowning she bent over slightly resting her hand on her hip, trying to relieve herself of the random pains within her.

Gabrielle noticed that she had not moved and it was rather dark. She squinted her eyes and came towards her, seeing her unresponsive state. "Are you alright?" she wrapped her arm around her friend but Xena remained silent, hiding whatever what was bothering her. "Xena, now is not the time for secrets," she frowned, feeling like she was being betrayed again.

Xena closed her eyes, blocking out Gabrielle completely, now focused on the pain engulfing her. Gabrielle was now more concerned since Xena was not even responding to her. She grabbed hold of Xena's arm trying to move her but that was not happening. "Xena?" she cried out and still, she received silence. "Xena!"

Deciding not to hide her pain anymore she dropped to her knees and breathed heavily, clutching her abdomen while Gabrielle remained helpless. She had no idea what to do and stood there nervously watching her. She tried to lift her up but Xena pushed her away.

"Just tell me what's wrong," Gabrielle pleaded and Xena's eyes closed tightly, holding in her impending screams that awaited to be released. "Maybe I can help you?" she ran back to the campsite and emptied all of Xena's bags searching for something that might help even though she had no idea what was happening. She sniffed a few herbs and ran back to Xena and knelt down in front of her. She held up the herb close to Xena's nose alerting her. Her eyes opened and Gabrielle grabbed the wineskin filled with water urging her to drink. "It's for pain, that's all I know..." she never felt more helpless until this moment.

Xena did as Gabrielle told her to do then sat down leaning on a tree, allowing her breathing to slow. Gabrielle sat in front of her tapping her fingers on her knees, patiently waiting for the herb to do its job though it would take awhile. Xena was so good at hiding her injuries and pain from others, it was hard to tell when she was in dire need sometimes.

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows expecting a response from Xena but all she received was a defensive glare. "So...are you alright _now_?" she asked nicely and Xena shook her head, ignoring the traveling pain throughout her abdomen and lower back. "I want to help."

Xena exhaled slowly as her fingers dug into her side, trying to subside the stabbing pain. Sweat began to form on her forehead and she smiled weakly. "Tell me a story, Gabrielle."

"What?" she was sure Xena was now out of her mind or she was really good at ignoring whatever what was happening to her. "I don't know if that's going to help you...I mean you just –"

She nodded extending her hand to her and held on tightly. "Tell me a story about something joyful" her eyelids slid over her eyes and Gabrielle eyed her cautiously. "Please?" the blonde relented and nodded her head agreeing to Xena's odd request.


	9. Chapter 9

 

 _The day she came to power our lives forever changed_  
Never before a darkness like this have we seen  
No end to suffering, all hail our mighty queen

 _There's no hiding from her_  
_She sees everything_  
_Rules with the iron fist_  
_You know she is_

 _The matriarch_  
_She'll eat your heart_

 _I've heard it said that she can melt you with her eyes_  
_And out her fingers spits a burning liquid fire_  
_Without a single word you'll fall under her spell_  
_And rip yourself apart with your bare hands while marching to her bell_

 _There's no rising above_  
_She drowns everything_  
_Freedom doesn't exist_  
_You can't resist_

_The matriarch_

_Song: Unleash The Archers –The Matriarch_

_From Xena to the Holy Roman Empire_

  

_Chapter 9_

Gabrielle stayed with Xena leaning on the tree telling her stories of their years spent together. They had been through a lot these last seventeen years and they were beginning a new chapter in their lives once again. She looked up at Xena as her eyes started to glaze over, losing consciousness. Xena lolled her head to the side staring at Gabrielle's serene face and she grinned.

Gabrielle brushed her fingers along Xena's cheek softly then stood up trying to get Xena up off the ground. "Come on," she urged her and held out her hands. Xena grabbed her hands and the small blonde hoisted her up with all her strength and Xena groaned from her aching body. Gabrielle wrapped her arm around Xena's shoulder and carefully aided her to their campsite not too far from where they were.

She dropped Xena on the floor carefully and then ran back to retrieve their weapons laying in the grass. She knelt down next to Xena and gave her the wineskin filled with water which Xena refused. Gabrielle sighed and Xena laid down cautiously on her back while Gabrielle remained sitting up, staring down at her friend. "Are you still in pain?" her hand came to Xena's shoulder and the empress showcased a large smirk on her face, which tempted Gabrielle to chuckle but she resisted.

Xena's eyes wandered around and then looked up at the starry sky. "I...should have never left Athens, Gabrielle," she sighed heavily.

Gabrielle shook her head, "you only did what you thought was right at the time, Xena."

Xena disagreed with that. "No, Gabrielle. I left because I was a coward. I lost a war and I wanted to hide so nobody could find me and I did just that," she lifted herself up and winced at the subtle aching in her abdomen. Gabrielle immediately came to her aid until Xena put up her hand refusing help. "Instead of facing my loss, I left and never returned."

Gabrielle was at a loss for words at this point. Everything Xena said was true and she couldn't disagree with her. When she decided to move to Egypt for seclusion she stopped coming out into the public and nobody even knew what she looked like anymore. She had hid her face for ten years and as she aged, she knew that people would say things of her and possibly send assassins after her. Xena thought she could hide and forget what happened but that only provoked Octavius to spread his empire even further beyond the Mediterranean Sea. He didn't have Egypt but he had all the rest of North Africa, which Xena fought long and hard for many years ago. Xena refused to give Egypt up but continued trade with Assyria's kingdom, but now that had stopped since Octavius took Assyria under his command. The Romans now had Allat's kingdom and that was partly Xena's fault. The Greek Empire is friends with Assyria and promised to help them but because of Xena's absence in the political arena, she could not, or would not, help Assyria and its people.

The ties between the Greeks and Assyrians had always been friendly but Xena's friendship with them had faded over the years because of her refusal to send treaties and men to help them fight against the Romans. Gabrielle knew that Xena cared less and less about the Roman Empire as the years flew by. She felt hopeless and perhaps Eve was right, Xena didn't belong in Egypt, she belonged in Athens, but Gabrielle knew that it would take a lot for Xena to move her empire back to Greece again.

She was losing herself in more ways than Gabrielle could count. The woman was slowly breaking down into millions of pieces and there was nobody that could help her but herself. She stared into Xena's longing eyes. "What if we moved back to Athens?" she suggested.

Xena's eyes rolled over to her and she blinked. "How can I do that? I would feel so ashamed of myself. I abandoned my people all because I lost. I failed them!" she clenched her teeth as her anger seeped through her skin.

"Xena your people love you and you've been absent for many years. If you return...you could reinstate your empire again and push back the Romans!" she grinned, hopeful that her words were getting through to her.

The warrior shook her head, "Octavius has won. He has more land than I do now. It will only be a matter of time before he takes my people too..." she sighed, drained from all her past thoughts coming back to her.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and scooted closer to Xena then grabbed hold of her hands. "You let him win. I've seen you in battles Xena. You're a great strategist. If you fight against him, you can win..." she smiled. "I believe in you," she said softly and Xena's head hung lowly at that. It wasn't something she wanted to hear right now. "You need more land and people on your side. You must convince the republic states that you can offer a better life to them."

Xena nodded now liking this idea. "There is only one problem..." Gabrielle looked into her eyes, creasing her brows. "We need to get out of this place before we can do any of that..."

She agreed to that. They were stuck here with no way out. "Why were you heading to Rome anyway?"

Xena's eyes narrowed and her pupils dilated. "To take back what is mine," she frowned deeply. "Octavius still has Solan and I left in such a hurry...I –I wanted him back in my grasp in this nightmare world. He belongs to me, nobody else!"

Gabrielle nodded, "this world is different, Xena. He might not know who you are."

"Then I will fight the Roman pig until I get Solan back," she eyed Gabrielle carefully as her blood boiled inside her.

* * *

_Ten Years Ago –The Hawk and The Dove_

Xena sat in her office organizing some strategic plans to attack Octavius and his stupid ever expanding empire. He wanted the North African territories even after she won them years ago. She wanted to keep them so she could cover more ground and so far within the last six months he attacked her naval fleet and she was losing. She lost half of her ships and men in the process.

Frantically she looked through the stack of documents and pulled out one of her military plans from years ago when she won the war against Octavius. She figured that these plans wouldn't work because he was attacking her by sea and not on land this time. Athens was known for their port and navy, but Xena started to think that she needed a new plan to wipe the Romans out of Greece.

They were camped out in their ships miles away from Greece, but close enough to attack. There had been a three day standstill on both sides as they all needed new supplies and to recuperate. Xena needed more time. Three days just wasn't enough. She needed help and with no allies except the Assyrians, she was alone in this war.

Gabrielle came running into her office with a scroll in her hand and a grand smile. Xena's eyes traveled up as she felt the vein in her forehead throbbing with all the paperwork she had to look through. "Good news, Xena. The Spartan general has decided to aid you in the fight against Octavius."

Xena stood up and took the wax sealed scroll and broke it. A subtle nod was her only response and she left her office with Gabrielle following her in tow. Both dressed in black armor and Xena wore a large black velvet cape with gold trimming. She read the alliance as they both strode through the long marble halls. She handed the scroll back to Gabrielle with determination. "It is not like the Spartans to join with Athenians. I am actually...surprised," she smirked.

She came to the training grounds to oversee her men training and gathering much needed supplies. As soon as she entered the training grounds everyone stopped fighting one another and bowed their heads. She waved her hand and her lead commander came to her, saluting her with his hand over his heart then curtly bowed to her.

She frowned as all the men continued their training once she gave them the signal. "The Spartan General, Xanthippus, has decided to ally with us against the Romans."

Her commander thought that was rather strange as the Spartans were not really known allies of Athenians in the past. "When will he be here? Octavius and his men will attack again and soon, Empress."

"According to his letter, he will be here by nightfall. Make sure his men feel at home," she smiled then left his side. Gabrielle followed her back into the palace and saw Eve, now twelve years old, sparing with one of the girls her age in the school. Eve saw her mother and Gabrielle then ran towards them.

"Mother, any news about the Romans?" she eagerly asked with her bright blue eyes twinkling. Gabrielle folded her arms and Xena was almost tempted to roll her eyes.

"I won't discuss politics with you, Eve. You're too young for that," she smiled and pat her cheek gently with the palm of her hand then brushed passed her. Eve folded her arms, pouting slightly. She decided to run after her mother and she tugged on her arm halting Xena as she passed by a few classrooms.

"But _when_ will I be old enough?" she frowned. "I'm a really good fighter, just like you. I can help you mother!" she pleaded and clamped her hands together. Gabrielle sighed audibly as she folded her arms, watching this young preteen try to entice her queen mother to show some mercy.

Xena shook her head, "I said no. I expect you to be in bed soon and don't try and sneak to the training grounds like you did yesterday," she reprimanded then left her side to go back to her office. Eve pouted and folded her arms.

Gabrielle smirked and placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "You'll get your chance to help your mother, but for now, do as she says, okay?" she eyed Eve and saw the preteen already rebelling her words. She had always been very close to Eve, more than Xena in some ways and she even treated her as her own daughter when Xena was away sometimes. " _O-kay_?" she stressed and Eve nodded her head sadly. Gabrielle saw the dagger in Eve's belt and snatched it away from her.

Eve frowned, "hey!" she squealed.

Gabrielle smiled, "you need to work on your reflexes," she winked and placed the dagger in Eve's hand then ran off to Xena's office. The young princess huffed feeling embarrassed that she was caught off guard. She didn't even give her a chance to react.

* * *

Xanthippus stood with Xena and Gabrielle on a large Athenian ship. The Spartan men were spread apart between at least five ships. The sun was barely rising and Xena squinted her eyes through the fog, trying to see what Octavius had planned next. The Spartan general awaited for Xena's command but so far she had said nothing. Everything was so quiet as they were docked in the middle of the open waters, something the Spartans were not used to. They fought on land mostly but occasionally fought by ship like they did against the Persians hundreds of years ago.

Gabrielle came to Xena's side alerting them both, "I have the oil ready in the bottom of each ship," she nodded and Xena acknowledged her information with a curt nod.

Xanthippus' eyes blinked, a bit surprised that Xena was using that tactic. "You're using the oil trick?" he smirked. "That is an old Spartan ploy," he mused.

Xena nodded and looked through a telescope scoping Octavius' main ship he was on. A devious smile came to her lips. "I've used it before. Against the Persians," she added winking at the Spartan general. She collapsed the telescope and handed it to Gabrielle as she continued to survey the Roman ships no more than a couple of miles from hers. They were quiet, very quiet. The general rubbed his scruffy beard as he folded his arms waiting for the empress' command.

"I trust you know what you're doing, empress," he chided.

Xena frowned, "something's not right," her eyes wandered around and then she suddenly heard a subtle whistling sound coming from up above. Gabrielle looked up as did Xena at the sound but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Xena's eyes widened as she saw flaming arrows coming towards their ships. "Get down!" she pushed Gabrielle to the deck floor as she fell next to her.

The Roman archer shot flaming arrows at Xena's surrounding ships with the oil and two exploded, bursting into flames. Xena's eyes grew in fear as she heard a loud explosion not far from her ship. She wrapped her arm around Gabrielle then unsheathed her sword, clenching her teeth, she jumped up and grabbed her black plumed helmet. Gabrielle coughed from the smoke of the surrounding ships and saw Xena climbing on one of the sails. "Xena! What are you doing?!" she stood up covering her mouth with her hand, trying not to inhale the deadly smog of burning oil.

Xena cut down her sails with her sword then jumped down and went below deck. She saw many barrels of oil still intact and she sheathed her sword. Pushing the barrels to the back of the ship Xanthippus came to her side. Struggling to push the large barrels he aided her and she smiled. Together they worked on moving the oil barrels to the back of the ship so she could dump them in the water. "I have two more ships with oil barrels on board. If Octavius shoots more of his flaming arrows, I will have lost five ships in one blow." She groaned as they pushed another barrel.

The Spartan grunted as he pushed another barrel alongside Xena. He huffed then turned his attention to the empress. "the Romans aren't known to use archers in battle especially at sea." He exhaled slowly, "someone must have told him that you had oil on these ships otherwise...why shoot arrows especially flaming arrows?"

Xena nodded agreeing with him. There had been a mole in her army . Octavius had poor archers and he only used them as a last resort. He was more of a hand to hand combat kind of guy unless he had Persians working with him, but she doubted that. Xena had destroyed any alliance Rome had with Persia especially since she killed their king years ago. Suddenly water started seeping through the decks and swords pierced through the bottom of the ship. Both Xena and Xanthippus unsheathed their swords and stood back to back cautious of the Romans' motives.

A sword pierced through the deck close to Xena's boot and she gasped and water began shooting up from the bottom of the ship. The Spartan shook his head at this entire situation. They were trying to sink her ship and doing very well at it too. Another sword came through and sliced into one of the barrels of oil. Xena's eyes widened as oil began to pour all over the floor boards. "We need to get off this ship," she concluded and the general did not disagree. They drug their water soaked boots through the foot of water and another sword came piercing through the floor boards again and Xena let out a loud cry and chopped the Roman's blade in half. "This is some guerilla warfare, Octavius," she grumbled and waded through the water, finding it difficult because of her heavy cape weighing her down.

Finally reaching the deck Xena to see Gabrielle overseeing the battle. Octavius' surrounding ships were coming closer to hers. Gabrielle had the Spartans throwing bombs at the ships and so far that had slowed them down. Xena ran to her and grabbed her shoulder forcefully turning her towards her. "Why are you using the Greek fire?!" she yelled.

Gabrielle frowned, "what am I supposed to do? Watch them come closer and closer to us!" she shrugged her shoulders and nodded at the Spartan soldiers. "Fire!" she commanded.

Xena growled and stood in front of the line of Spartans. "Stop!" Gabrielle's frown deepened as she saw Xena standing in the way. "This ship is sinking! The Romans pierced holes in the bottom of the ship!"

Suddenly with all the commotion going on the ship began creaking and swaying then a large jolt made everyone stumble. Xena held onto the railing then snapped her head around to see what was behind her. An unfamiliar ship had approached them and had chains attached to Xena's ship, pulling them deeper into the Mediterranean Sea. She squinted her eyes and saw a woman on the deck of the ship and she had tattoos on her face with a large grin.

Gabrielle came to her side and stared at the strange woman, "who in Hades is that?"

Xena snarled, "Octavius' new ally," she grumbled and turned to the Spartans. "Get off the ship! Now!" she demanded and they grabbed the escape boats and dropped them down into the water, jumping over the railing one by one. Xanthippus breathed heavily as he stared at the foreign woman.

"that's Sayyida al-Hurra, she's a Moroccan pirate queen," he shook his head and spat on the deck in disgust. "Only dogs lie with dogs," he mumbled.

Xena turned to Gabrielle with pleading eyes, "Gabrielle, I want you to leave with the Spartans."

Gabrielle couldn't believe she was saying this. "No way! I'm staying with you!"

Xena growled, "do as I say!" she saw Gabrielle being defiant and she needed to focus and she couldn't do that if Gabrielle was in the way. "Don't make me force you..." she pleaded. Gabrielle refused to move and Xena cried out then head butted Gabrielle with her steel helmet, knocking her out. She picked up her blonde companion and handed her to a Spartan soldier. "I'm sorry Gabrielle. It's only because I care about you..." she sighed and left the Spartan's side to be with Xanthippus.

He snickered, "tough love between you two?" Xena glared at him and he focused on the matter at hand, this Sayyida woman he spoke of. Xena wanted to get on her ship and she looked to the chains hooked onto her sinking ship. Surveying the area the entire battle scene fell silent. She saw men yelling, swords were clashing, bodies falling into the sea, fallen soldiers crying out, but she couldn't hear anything. She wasn't going to lose, she couldn't.

She jumped onto one of the chains and steadied herself, balancing her body she unsheathed her sword. Sayyida's eyebrow raised at the brave Grecian Empress. Xena smirked and began walking across the chain holding her arms out balancing carefully. Xanthippus saw Xena bravely walking across the chain and his widened in awe of her. He never had seen such an ambitious woman in his entire life, not even Spartan women were so brave to do a stunt like that.

Xena flipped over onto the ship screaming loudly and many men surrounded her. She unsheathed her sword and smiled deviously at them. "Come and get some," she hissed and her eyes narrowed and held her sword out ready for them to attack.

A swarm of men came at her and she cried out then grabbed the sail's rope and swung to the other side of the ship. Sayyida chuckled, admiring this Xena woman's tactics. The men came running towards her and she kicked two men and threw one overboard. She then jumped onto the highest deck and thrust her blade into a soldier's chest and grabbed his sword, jabbing an attacker from behind into his gut. Another soldier came at her and she head butted him and he fell down the stairs, breaking his neck.

Retrieving her sword she laid her eyes on the Moroccan woman with a mischievous grin on her lips. Five more men came at her and she twirled the two blades in her hands, shaking her head mockingly. "Come on..." she hissed awaiting for them to run closer to her. "Yeah that's it..." she looked up and saw a rope that held the largest sail. Jumping up she cut the belay and the large sail fell on top of the men. Xena then cut the bitts and they came tumbling down on the soldiers, crushing them to death.

Xena finally saw Sayyida's subtle smirk change to annoyance. Good, she thought. She flipped onto the afterdeck twirling the swords in her hands facing the pirate queen. Sayyida drew her scimitars and stood in defensive mode opposite Xena. "You have destroyed most of my ship, Xena," she teased.

"You have too many sails," she gestured. "They got in my way," her eyes narrowed as she danced around the woman. "Are you Octavius' new puppet?" she grinned.

Sayyida snickered, "he offered me a better deal than you ever could, Xena."

Xena frowned, "you side with a man, yet you could side with me. We could be strong women together and you turn to the enemy instead!" she clenched her teeth.

"You've made my country a living hell, Xena. I won't let you win this war," Sayyida smirked and Xena growled then came at her full force.

* * *

Gabrielle finally came to and she was not on a ship anymore. She was on land with a few Spartan soldiers. She rubbed her forehead and groaned, standing up. Realization began to sink in and she ran towards the shore to see Xena's ship sinking into the sea. She covered her eyes from the bright sun and saw Xena fighting with that Moroccan pirate queen on her ship, alone. "No she didn't..." she grunted and grabbed a Spartan's sword and pushed a boat into the water, heading out by herself.

Xanthippus hopped onto a different ship and saw Octavius standing overseeing the losing battle. He looked down at his men in smaller war boats and he whistled at them. "Attack the front of the emperor's ship!" he demanded. "It's the weakest spot!" he saw a Roman coming for him and he cried out and sliced the Roman's neck then threw him off the ship into the deep waters.

The general then scoped around and saw Xena fighting with Sayyida. If anything he knew that Xena could hold her own against anyone but Sayyida was a very good fighter and Xena was angry. He knew that anger clouded the mind and Xena would lose that fight if she allowed the anger to continue to scorch through her veins.

Gabrielle rowed the boat in the middle of the all chaos. Many fallen men fell into the sea as she sailed through the large Greek ships. She was determined to aid Xena against this pirate woman and then once she was finished, she would surely go for Octavius. She looked ahead and saw Octavius' ship sitting so still and calm. He was probably drinking wine basking in the glory of this disaster of a battle. Her eyes peered up at the Moroccan woman's ship and she decided to change her course to go to the Roman Emperor's ship instead.

Everyone was so distracted that she figured that nobody would notice that she was cruising through to the emperor's ship. She steered the boat to the side and grabbed a hold of a rope hanging off the side and sheathed the sword to her hip then began climbing all the way to the top, hoping that no one would notice her.

Xanthippus fought back the Romans on one of Xena's ships then saw the blonde friend of Xena's climbing up Octavius' ship and his eyes widened. Then he looked to Xena who was still fighting Sayyida. He thought it'd be best to save Gabrielle than Xena at the moment.

* * *

Xena swung her leg underneath Sayyida and she fell overboard and almost fell into the open water until she grabbed one of the belay's. Xena's eyes widened delighted to see the woman's pleading eyes. She stepped up onto the railing looking down at the pirate queen. "We could have been such great friends," Xena sighed as she casually glanced at her nails. She took a small knife from her breastplate and held it close to the rope, teasing to cut it. Sayyida's eyes grew in fear. "You chose the wrong side..." Xena began slowly cutting the rope.

Sayyida shook her head, "I never would have allied with you! You're insane!" she shouted as she saw the knife cutting deeper into the thick rope.

Xena smirked, nodding her head. "Depends who you ask..." she jested. "You see Sayyida, insanity is just a perspective of the enemy," she began speaking cryptically and grinned deviously down at the woman. "And sanity is only a gift that comes from the gods...so you see, insanity is just an illusion forged by liars!" she grunted and cut the rope, watching the pirate fall into the water. She raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips, disgusted at the woman's betrayal. She hadn't even known she existed until today.

Letting out a large exhale she then saw Gabrielle climbing aboard on Octavius' ship. She immediately felt her heart drop. She thought that Gabrielle would have been knocked out a bit longer and all this chaos would have ended but it appeared that it was just beginning. Her side was losing and losing quickly. Her ships were in flames and her own war ship had sunk to the bottom of the sea. She now understood why the sudden change of tactics from Octavius, because those tactics weren't his at all, they were Sayyida's, his new ally. Though, Xena didn't kill her, she knew she'd come back up eventually and try to fight again, but for now, she had bigger things to focus on.

* * *

Gabrielle finally made it to the deck of the ship and Octavius stood from his seat once he saw the irritating blonde friend of Xena's. She drew her sword and stared into his eyes. "What exactly do you think you're going to accomplish coming up here by yourself, Gabrielle?"

She shrugged, "surrender Octavius or I'll kill you."

He began laughing and then a knife was thrown inches away from his head. His laughter stopped and saw the knife stuck in the wall behind him and he felt like he almost lost his eye. Looking to see who was the attacker he saw no other than Xena standing at the bow of the ship with a dissatisfied look on her face.

"You missed," he chuckled with a smug grin.

Xena snickered, "I wasn't aiming for your head. Don't worry, I'll make sure I won't miss next time," she unsheathed her sword and winked at the scared emperor.

"I've always loved your jokes, Xena!" he chided and began laughing. He frowned and snapped his fingers. "Stop this nonsense Xena, you can't win, not this time." He stared at Gabrielle as his men surrounded her head with their spears close to slicing her neck. "you want your friend to die, do you?" his eyes narrowed wickedly.

Gabrielle frowned, "don't listen to him, Xena!" she yelled and the emperor folded his arms staring at the silent empress.

"Nothing to say? That's something new," he jested and Xena saw Gabrielle standing completely still. He gestured to the battle before them with a grand smile. "Look around, Xena! You're losing! And there's nothing...you can do about it," he snickered.

"I will kill you right now, Octavius," Xena took another step closer and the Roman soldiers inched closer to Gabrielle's neck.

Octavius sighed heavily shaking his head at the arrogance of this woman. "Listen Xena, I know you don't like to listen, but I have men surrounding your palace in Athens as we speak. They plan to blow it up into smithereens unless..." he say her eyes grow in terror. "you surrender...to _me_." He proposed. He nodded reaffirming the shocked look on the empress's face. "Yes, you see, all those children in your fortress will die because of _you_ ," he began slowly erupting in laughter, "and then everyone will hate you again! Tough decision I know but if you surrender, you may have your silly little empire and I take my men and leave." He folded his arms, becoming more serious now. "So what will it be, _empress_?" he hissed.

Xena looked at the battle behind her and she didn't like to surrender but there were many lives in the palm of her hand right now. Her daughter was there and everyone was probably completely oblivious to Octavius' plan and she thought he may be lying but she didn't want to take that chance. She turned around and sheathed her sword and held up two fingers surrendering in the losing fight against the Roman Empire. Octavius grinned at her defeat and waved his hands allowing Gabrielle to go free.

"Smart move, Xena," he nodded. Gabrielle ran back to Xena and grabbed hold of her arm tightly, glaring into her icy eyes.

"You're surrendering?!" she whispered.

Xena stared down at her fiery friend. "I can't risk it, Gabrielle." She shook her head blankly staring at her men dying before her. "I can't."

* * *

Xena and Gabrielle returned to the palace two days later after she had surrendered. She didn't like surrendering but she knew she was also losing the battle. She thought she could use old tactics and had little time to prepare and she lost over two hundred thousand men in the process over six months of the never-ending battle.

They walked through the doors and Eve saw her mother with her battle armor on and her cape was torn, her face scratched up and her hair a mess. She frowned and halted in front of her then saw the same solemn expression on Gabrielle's face.

"Did we win?" she innocently asked. Xena smiled and brushed her thumb against Eve's cheek then slowly left her side to go to her room upstairs. Eve was very confused as she didn't get an answer and Gabrielle didn't want to answer for her either. She was tempted to follow them both but decided to wait downstairs for any more news.

Eve went to sit down in the atrium and Solan came to sit next to her. She smiled as her brother grinned at her. He hugged her tightly and she groaned. "Solan come on, I'm not a kid anymore." He rolled his eyes at her and then she sighed quietly, turning her head towards him. "I tried to ask mother if we won the battle, but she didn't answer me..." she leaned against a few large pillows, folding her arms. He sighed warily and then she saw that look in his eyes.

* * *

As Xena was taking off her armor she threw it on the chair nearby for Racha to collect later. Gabrielle helped Xena take unlace her corset until her door burst open and the lanky preteen was standing at the entrance with wide eyes. "We lost?!" she blurted out. Both women blinked at Eve's sudden outburst and looked at one another. "How...what...I can't..." she began to pace around at the entrance of her mother's room and Xena sighed, slightly pushing Gabrielle away to leave her corset for another time.

Xena grabbed Eve's hand and sat her down on her bed. The young princess stared up at her mother with her big blue eyes and Xena knelt down in front of her, holding her hands tightly. "Sometimes we lose and sometimes we win," she smiled sadly.

Eve nodded understanding what her mother was saying, "and this time we lost," she affirmed.

Her queen mother nodded, "right. We're going to take a trip somewhere." She stared into her daughter's confused eyes as she awaited her response. Gabrielle watched the two exchange with one another. Xena had told Gabrielle what she wanted to do the day after she retreated from the losing war and she fought her about it, but there was no changing Xena's mind about it. "We're going to Egypt." She began slowly and Eve remained still and quiet. "to live there for awhile."

Eve's mouth gaped. "But why? Mother, I like living here in Athens."

"I know you do, but this will be better for all of us, I promise," Xena smiled hoping she'd comply. Eve snatched her hands away and folded her arms defiantly. Xena blinked as her reaction.

"What about all my friends here?" she frowned.

"You will make new friends!" Xena tried to make light of the situation but Eve wasn't having it. "You've been to Egypt before. You loved it, remember?"

Eve scoffed, "yeah but not to live there! Athens is my home, I'm not going."

Xena frowned then stood up, narrowing her eyes. Gabrielle saw she was about to turn from mother to terrifying empress so she stepped in. Gabrielle knelt down in front of Eve stepping in between her and the angry Xena. "Eve, your mother thinks this is the best decision and you should respect that. I'm going too and we'll have lots of fun." She grinned hopefully.

The princess grimaced at her mother matching her expression. "Fine, I'll go, only because you want me to Gabrielle, not because of _her_." She stood up and stormed out of the room.

Xena rubbed her face with her hands vigorously trying to calm her rising frustration with that daughter of hers. "Sometimes it's hard to believe I gave birth to that sassy girl," she shook her head groaning.

Gabrielle smirked, "yeah me too. She's just like you," she teased. Xena glared at her friend and Gabrielle shrugged. "What? It's true," she continued and Xena folded her arms not enjoying her teasing. She sighed, "don't worry about her. She'll come to love Egypt, I'm sure of it..."

* * *

Xena stared distantly at the slowly dying embers of their campfire, remembering the entire battle and every moment that came after it. Gabrielle bit her bottom lip out of nerves. "We need to go to Rome and when we get out of here, we're going back to Athens." She turned her head to Gabrielle with determination in her eyes. "Where we belong."

 

**AN: I like to incorporate certain historical figures in this story and each one has a purpose. Everyone that I add that is not particularly from the Xenaverse is a real figure in history. Sayyida al-Hurra was a real female pirate that is very important in Moroccan history (though she's from a different time period). As are Allat and Queen Zenobia from the first story. ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

_The kiss of death is all I need_

_Set me free from the night_  
_To a place without a name_  
_Wake me up from the sea of dreams_

_Now, now the storm is over_  
_And the sky is clear_  
_The ruins of my past_  
_Are standing so still and silent_  
_Fading into eternal sleep_

_My frozen eyes have opened up_  
_The dreamcarnation is dead_

_Guide me through all the dark_  
Into the glory of the heavens  
Rising up from the sea of dreams  
Sky-high

_Take my dream_  
_Take my everything_  
_I'll be nowhere to be found_

_Song: Battle Beast –Sea of Dreams_

_From Xena to Eve_

**AN: the truth of Ares' vision that Xena saw so long ago is finally revealed to Gabrielle. She will now find the whole truth that was not apparent to Xena fifteen years ago. Good luck ;)**

_Chapter 10_

Eve sat alone in her mother's bedroom with Aphrodite waiting to see if anything had changed between Gabrielle and her mother, but so far they laid still together, next to each other. She had been waiting for hours now and refused to leave the room in case something did in fact happen.

Kora came inside of the room to check on Xena's head wound and saw Eve sitting there by herself watching the bed. She smiled and then took off the bandages around Xena's head then frowned to see her wound was healing and rapidly. A lot better than it was just a few days ago. Eve saw the confusion in the young Egyptian woman's eyes and stood up to come by her side.

"What's the matter?" the princess asked.

Kora shrugged her shoulders and set the bandages in a bowl. She didn't need the new bandages it seemed. "Her wound is healing very well. Hopefully she'll wake up soon, right?" she frowned as she saw Gabrielle laying next to Xena. "What's wrong with Miss Gabrielle?" she inquired.

Eve smiled shaking her head, "nothing she's just sleeping," she lied and Kora left the room closing the door behind her. The princess turned to the Love Goddess with pleading eyes. "Are they alright? Can you check and see?"

Aphrodite sighed not sure if she was able to do such a thing. To be truthfully honest she knew as much about the elixir as Eve did, absolutely nothing. "Sorry Evie, I don't know anything about their condition. It's probably best if they are untouched." She smiled softly hoping that would suffice for now. "Hey don't look so gloom, this is depressing enough!" she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Eve plopped back down into the chair and folded her arms, sliding down feeling in fact very depressed. "I can't help but thinking this is all my fault. I should have told my mother about Samuel but I didn't and now this happened!" she groaned. She glanced behind her and saw all the scrolls and notes that Gabrielle had laid on the floor searching for answers about the elixir. Getting up she waltzed over to the large scroll that was on the floor. Frowning she knelt down and looked through all of Gabrielle's notes. "Gabrielle was really busy...trying to find out what this elixir can do..."

Aphrodite yawned, feeling exhausted just sitting here waiting. It wasn't like she had anything better to do at the moment but she was bored. "Yeah, she's a real bookworm," she joked.

Eve skimmed through the notes and then looked at the mass of information about the elixir in the large scroll. Her fingers grazed the parchment and a frown came to her lips. "This must have been why she left for Alexandria..." she saw Gabrielle had numbered her pages of notes and put them in order. She had been taught how to read because of Gabrielle and now she was here alone on the other side of whatever was going on in those heads of theirs, entering an everlasting sleep. "It looks like she never finished her research," she tapped her chin and unrolled the rest of the large scroll until it hit the other side of the wall. Her eyes widened, "wow there's so much information in this scroll. I'll never be able to find anything on my own," the gears in her mind began turning. "I'm sure she went to the library in Alexandria to find this scroll, otherwise why would she go?" she stood up staring at the bored goddess.

She came up to her shocking her a bit. "Aphrodite, I need to go to Alexandria to find out how she got a hold of this scroll. I need help deciphering the text."

Aphrodite nodded, "do what you want, princess. Wish I could help you more," she grabbed a hold of Eve's hand and the princess smiled sadly at her.

Solan walked into the room and his eyes widened to see the Love Goddess present in the room, but she looked different. Everyone looked different these days he couldn't keep track. Aphrodite grinned at his presence and set her hands on her hips. "Hello handsome. Look at you, all grown up!" she winked and Solan smirked as his cheeks reddened. "You're definitely not the skinny teenager you once were!"

Eve rolled her eyes then her brother came to her with a scroll sealed with wax. That couldn't be good, she thought. He presented her with the scroll with a serious expression on his face. "Eve, we have a problem." She snatched the scroll and unrolled it reading it quickly. "Samuel wants to attack Athens and since he knows mother isn't there, it's unprotected."

She shook her head and crumbled the scroll in her hands. Turning around to see her sleeping mother and Gabrielle, she couldn't let her mother's empire be attacked no matter what. She knew coming to Egypt was such a bad idea. "Solan, we need to go back to Athens. We can't let our mother's empire be destroyed for something that I did..." she sighed, letting her head hang lowly.

Aphrodite chuckled lowly and the two looked at her bemused and a bit annoyed. "History repeats itself again! Mother fights Persian king and now the daughter fights the son of a dead Persian king. This is such a great story," she winked.

Eve ignored the goddess and turned her attention back to Solan. "Tell the men that we will leave tonight by ship. It's the best thing we can do right now."

He nodded then saw Gabrielle lying next to his mother. "What about them?"

The princess sighed as she looked at the two slumbering friends next to one another. "We take them with us. I won't leave them behind." She narrowed her eyes and Solan left to tell the men the plan as soon as possible. Eve came to the side of the bed and brushed the back side of her hand against her mother's cheek with a sad but hopeful smile. "I won't fail you again, mother. We will save your empire, I promise," she leaned down and kissed her forehead and brushed her bangs aside.

* * *

Xena woke up abruptly and saw the sun slowly rising. Gabrielle was still asleep curled up next to her and she shook her shoulder gently. The blonde grumbled then opened her eyes to see Xena staring down at her with crazy wild eyes. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning heavily. "What's the matter, Xena?"

"I felt Eve, she was close to me," she placed a hand over her heart and Gabrielle raised a confused brow at her friend. She grabbed a hold of her shoulders forcefully now fully waking her up. "She was here Gabrielle! I could feel her," she smiled and started to feel more hopeful about the entirety of the situation. She got up from the ground and clutched her side, still aching from whatever happened to her last night, it was still there but less painful.

Gabrielle saw Xena hesitate and she got up throwing the blankets aside. "Does it still hurt?" she came around and touched Xena's arm gently.

"A little bit but I'll live," she smirked then gathered up the supplies and hopped onto the horse. Gabrielle sighed and snuffed out the embers in the campfire and mounted her horse, trotting close to Xena. "to Rome then?" she smiled mischievously and Gabrielle shook her head, sighing.

"To Rome," she concluded.

* * *

Days later Xena and Gabrielle arrived at the gates of Octavius' fortress and she tapped on the gates with her sword. The Roman guards turned to see none other than the Greek Empress behind the bars. She smiled and slipped her blade through the metal bars. "Hello boys," she winked and the guards frowned in disgust at her. She poked one of the guards in the shoulder with the point of her blade playfully. "I have a date with your emperor."

One of the guards smacked her blade back with his javelin and her eyebrows raised. "Octavius has no meeting with you, empress."

Xena laughed and pulled back her blade. "You know what I used to those who disobeyed me?" she leaned in closer to the bars and the guards looked at one another but remained silent. "You see these bars here?" she looked up and they did as well. The gate had large pointed edges on top and she grinned. "Imagine one of these struck through your body...left for the vultures." She sheathed her sword and saw the fear in the Romans' eyes. "So how about letting me in and I will spare your lives for another day, hm?" she pulled on the reins of her horse and the Romans grumbled then opened the gates.

She grinned curtly nodding at the two guards. Gabrielle followed in frowning at the two Romans and trotted close to Xena. She looked back to see the fearful Romans closing the large gate and saw the imminent smile on her friend's face. "You weren't really going to do that to them were you?" she whispered.

Xena looked at her with a bit of mirth in her eyes. "Of course not Gabrielle. I'm not a barbarian," she scoffed. "But I was thinking about it," she mumbled.

Gabrielle frowned, "what was that?"

"Oh nothing," she grinned and rode in further to Octavius' palace.

As the two dismounted their horses Xena walked up to the grand entrance and the doors were opened immediately. She waltzed in and definitely recognized this place. She hated it, she remembered everything about it and she saw many statues of Roman goddesses and gods in the atrium. A few servants roamed the halls and cowered once they laid eyes upon her. Gabrielle came to her side and grabbed her hand tightly. "What now?" she whispered.

"We wait, Gabrielle," Xena saw the Roman Emperor marching down the hall straight for her with a less enthusiastic expression. He came up to her and she placed her hands on her hips. He was so young, she recalled when he was still very young and he was a great ruler but he must have been butthurt that he lost the war. Little did he know that he won later on in life against her no more than a decade later she would run off to Egypt ashamed of herself. But here, it was different, everything was different. She still won, but she did it another way, but when she won, she was without the dear things close to her –Solan and Eve ceased to be in her grasp in this world.

She began to wonder if winning wasn't the best thing for her if she had to lose what meant so much to her. Octavius folded his arms after bowing to her since he was the loser in this fight. "Xena, what brings you here? I'm sure you're not here to gloat, or _are_ you?" he teased.

Xena grinned and shook her head, "no I'm not here to gloat, Octavius. I'm just..." her eyes wandered noticing a few changes since she had last been here, many moons ago. "...observing."

Octavius glanced over at Xena's blonde scribe turned warrior. He smiled at her and Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Gabrielle, what brings you here?"

"Observing, like Xena said," she smiled mocking the emperor. He frowned at that knowing that she was just making fun of him, he stepped back and gestured Xena and Gabrielle to come in further to his home. Gabrielle stuck close to Xena a bit unsure of this plan of hers although Xena had no plan, at least not one that she knew of. Octavius walked behind them as Xena looked around.

The empress turned around swiftly and the emperor raised his eyebrows. "You have a boy here, right?" she played coy and Octavius frowned at her question.

"You mean Solan?" she nodded in response. "Why the curiosity?"

She shrugged a shoulder and kept walking around hoping to see Solan anywhere but she saw nothing. She did see the emperor's sister, Octavia, sitting outside with a few girl friends drinking some wine and chatting. She didn't really like that woman, she was useless.

"Octavius I need to talk to you..." a familiar voice filled the room and immediately Xena felt rage within her. She swiftly turned around and saw Marc Antony standing in the same room as her. She unsheathed her sword and came marching towards the traitor.

Octavius' eyes widened and he stood in front of Xena blocking her way towards Marc Antony. Xena growled and then felt Gabrielle's hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to reality, or whatever this was. "Xena! Have you come to slaughter us all?!" he yelled at her and Xena's lip quivered seeing this man still alive. She killed him and here in this alternate world he was alive and well. She would give anything to kill him again for what he did to her brother so long ago.

Marc Antony chuckled, "it's alright Octavius. Xena and I have a bit of a strained relationship, wouldn't you agree, Xena?" he smirked folding his arms. Xena snarled and sheathed her sword trying to regain her composure.

"Forgive me. I had a dream that you died by my sword...I thought I must have still been dreaming," she smiled mockingly and he laughed then she chuckled lightly folding her arms.

Octavius breathed out slowly and then offered the two guests to sit down since he knew that they have traveled very far to come to Rome. Xena sat down with Gabrielle next to her and then a servant brought them wine. Xena took the wine and drank a large amount of it while Gabrielle nursed the glass in her hands, not feeling like drinking any wine at the moment. Though she noticed Xena downing the wine like it was water, which was never good.

Gabrielle leaned in closely, "don't drink too much of that," she whispered.

Xena stared at her knowing what she meant, but sipped the wine anyway. "I will need this as a distraction to keep me from killing Marc Antony," she frowned as she watched the two men chatting in a corner. "I should slit both of their throats," she mused.

Gabrielle didn't like to hear Xena talk like that, it was like she had reverted back to her old self again, but she knew how much she hated Marc Antony. She probably hated him more than Octavius. "Xena, you're worrying me."

"Stop worrying about me Gabrielle. I'm fine," she continued to sip the dark wine and the blonde sighed setting her glass down on the table, feeling Xena's angst seeping through her skin.

After a few minutes of talking with Marc Antony, Octavius then decided to greet his guests. He frowned at Xena and she simply smiled at him. He really didn't like her, and he knew that she'd never change. He had no idea why she was here in the first place. He would have thought that she wanted to be far away from him ever since she won the war. "Xena, I am having a party tonight, you should join since you're already here." He then eyed her warrior scribe and tightly smiled, "and you too Gabrielle."

Xena stood up finishing the glass of wine and placed a hard hand on the emperor's shoulder. "A party you said? I love parties. I haven't been to one in years."

Octavius smirked, "perhaps because nobody wants to invite you," he mused.

" _Octavius_ ," she chided, "I'm not so bad once you get to know me," she pat his cheek then left his side wanting to roam his fortress. Gabrielle nervously smiled then skipped to catch up with her.

As Xena walked through the marble halls she looked at all the tapestries and wiped her finger on the tables, finding no sign of dust or dirt, she nodded and kept walking casually. Gabrielle glanced around and saw the servants quickly passing them by. They had fear in their eyes and she could understand why. This was not a good idea to be here, she thought. "Xena, are we really going to stay for the party? We need to figure out a way to get out of here..."

Xena pulled Gabrielle aside into an empty hallway and put her hand over her friend's mouth. "We're going to stay for the party, Gabrielle. I'm here only for Solan."

"so you're not thinking of killing Marc Antony, right?" Gabrielle glared at Xena.

The empress rolled her eyes and Gabrielle huffed. "Xena!"

"No, I'm not going to kill him even though I want to..." she sighed and then waltzed through a separate hallway with Gabrielle in tow.

* * *

Later in the night many Roman nobles attended the party and Xena remained in a secluded corner watching everyone enter the large room. She kept her eyes peeled for anything unusual but she figured this entire world was unusual so she was ready for anything. Gabrielle came to her side with two glasses and handed one to Xena. She drank from it and frowned at her. Gabrielle smirked. "I'm not giving you wine, Xena. Drink the water," she mused.

"Is this my punishment?" she smirked at Gabrielle. "to be sober to endure this ridiculous party," she added with a scoff and drank the water.

Gabrielle stayed with Xena in their own little corner. Others circulated the room and subtle glances came their way obviously knowing who they were. Whispers were heard from nearby and Gabrielle sighed listening to all the negative comments about Xena, it was so awful to hear those things. If only they knew what good Xena had done in the last decade they would think differently. Gabrielle couldn't wait to get out of this place. It was such a nightmare to be sent back here, everything was so opposite here and she just wanted to go home with Xena, Eve and Solan, where everything was normal, well as normal as it could ever be.

Xena seemed to be scoping out the area and Gabrielle noticed Marc Antony walking in with Solan by his side. Gabrielle nudged Xena in her ribs and pointed over to the other side of the room. Xena's eyes widened as she saw Solan very close to Marc Antony, a little too close. Xena set down her glass of water and made her way over there. Gabrielle panicked and followed her, trying to keep up with her large strides.

Marc Antony saw the empress approaching and a smile came to his smug face. He raised his chalice of wine and Xena tightly smiled at him. She eyed Solan, the slim teenager standing beside him. Solan noticed her eyes focused on him and he politely smiled at her. He remembered her when she came here before but also realized that she was the victor in the war, so he didn't like her just like Octavius didn't but he wasn't rude.

Gabrielle saw Solan and he was dressed nicely with his short hair combed back. He definitely looked like a true Roman and she was sure that Xena didn't like seeing him like that. It was probably eating her up inside.

"Xena, so nice of you to stay for the festivities," Marc Antony chided and Xena blinked, focusing her attention back to the Roman ignoring Solan's presence for a moment.

"It would have been rude of me to decline..." she smugly smiled then looked to Solan. "Solan, right?" she smiled at the blonde teenager.

He nodded and outstretched his hand and her eyes lingered for awhile longer then she finally shook his hand. "I remember you," he curtly bowed his head and Xena smiled sadly, trying to hide her subtle emotions within her. It had been so long since she had seen him at this age and he was so naive then and so sweet. "You traveled a long way to get here!" he marveled.

Gabrielle stifled a laugh at Solan. He was so energetic and that was one great quality he still possessed even after all these years. Xena smiled sweetly at her young son and nodded her head. "So," she paused staring at Marc Antony's smug smile then turned back to Solan, "you've been studying a lot, right?" she hoped he hadn't abandoned his passion for studying.

Solan frowned, "I stopped my studies a few years ago." Xena's eyebrows creased once she heard that. She didn't want to hear that, he enjoyed studying and here he had abandoned his studies to do..what? she wondered.

"If you're not studying..what _are_ you doing?" Xena frowned staring at Marc Antony.

He was about to answer until Marc Antony stepped in, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Xena's entire body tensed up and she folded her arms awaiting for his response. "He is training to become Octavius' successor, aren't you Solan?" he wrapped his arm around the lithe boy's frame.

Xena's eyes grew and her blood began boiling when she heard that. Successor? Is this what would have happened to Solan if she didn't take him while she had the chance. Here, it was obvious he had no idea who she was and now this happened. This was the worst thing that could have happened. She would rather die a thousand deaths than allow her son to become a true Roman. Successor, she scoffed at the idea.

Gabrielle saw Xena reaching for her sword and she touched her hand. Xena spun around them pushed Gabrielle out of the way and she fell to the floor. "Xena, no!" she yelled out and apologized for landing on a few guests on the floor.

Xena drew her sword and kicked Marc Antony to the ground holding the blade close to his throat. Solan backed away dropping his wine glass, fearful that she would kill them both right now. The Roman smiled holding his hands up for surrender. "Xena...what are you so angry for?" he chuckled nervously.

Xena smashed her boot's heel onto Marc Antony's hand and he winced in pain. She lifted him up by his blouse and stared into his eyes. "You use a child for your own exploits! You think I am a monster, then what does that make you?" she spat and he frowned staring at the blade coming closer to his neck.

Octavius ran over to see Xena pinning down his trusted friend on the floor. "Xena get off of him! If you leave now...then I won't kill you," he said in a calm voice.

Xena stood up and placed her boot on the Roman's chest, preventing him from getting up. She turned to see Solan run to Octavius' side, fearful of her. She pointed the blade at the emperor. "You allow this man to train Solan to become your successor?" she shook her head disgusted at the entire idea.

Gabrielle watched as the entire room had their eyes on Xena. The Roman Emperor folded his arms at Xena, not exactly sure how to respond to this kind of behavior. She was worried that Xena might do something she would regret later, but she had already done so many things and this alternate life, was all an illusion, an illusion of nightmares all combined into one false reality.

Xena chuckled and stared at Marc Antony still under her boot. Her eyes grew wide with fire and twirled the sword in her wrist. "I will not allow this happen!" she cried out and plunged the sword through Marc Antony's torso and Gabrielle yelled out then wrapped her arms around Xena, trying to pull her off.

The empress cried out as the horrible pain in her abdomen had returned and she bent over, wincing at the agonizing pain. Clutching her torso she fell to her knees as the pain turned from aching to an almost burning sensation inside of her. Gabrielle looked to Xena doubled over in pain and then looked down at her own hands, they were glowing a bright white and soon enough her entire body was overcome with a strange tingling sensation.

She scooted over to Xena and wrapped her arms around her and closed her eyes, hoping that their deaths were close as she knew that Octavius were surely have Xena executed. She whispered to Xena, "you can't play with this world, Xena!" she shut her eyes tightly.

* * *

Suddenly Gabrielle didn't hear anything nor did she feel like she were dead either. She opened one eye and then saw that they were not in the Roman Emperor's ballroom anymore. They were in a dark place, void of people. She opened her other eye and looked around to see nobody around them, not a soul. She was sure they weren't dead. She held onto Xena still but now she was unconscious again, she let go of her and laid her down on the dark ground. It was so strange, but even though it was dark, she could see everything.

As she brushed Xena's hair away from her face she gasped as she saw a single white streak in Xena's raven hair. She couldn't understand why that happened. Perhaps they were back home, she hoped. Although she knew that couldn't be true because then they'd be in Egypt right now. She slapped Xena's cheek lightly, "Xena, wake up!" she cupped her face in her palms and groaned out of frustration.

"She always being knocked out, isn't she?" Ares appeared in the darkness and Gabrielle growled then came at him, pushing him back a few steps. He frowned and put up his hands. "Relax!"

Gabrielle yelled, "what are you doing here?! If you've come to _help_ then I suggest that you leave!"

Ares smiled, "I'm not real Gabrielle. None of this is real," he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

Gabrielle paced around in a circle then looked at Xena lying on the ground completely oblivious. "How do we get out of this place? I don't want to be transported anywhere else if I don't know where we are and what we're supposed to do." She huffed.

The War God circled Gabrielle and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I want to show you what Xena saw many years ago, then maybe you will understand."

"I don't need you to show me anything. You've done enough."

Ares grinned, "just close your eyes Gabrielle and I'll show the way..." he hissed and Gabrielle thought what did she have to lose right now anyway? She sighed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to calm down and let go fully.

* * *

Moments passed and Gabrielle opened her eyes and she was in a field with Ares. She saw a burning village and a woman wielding a sword slaughtering innocent people. As she took a step closer to get a better look she squinted her eyes trying to see who it was. "This is Amphipolis isn't it?" she turned to Ares and he remained silent. "Who is that?" she ran forward before he could stop her.

She was in the middle of the battle and people ran passed her as she was invisible to the naked eye. Ares grunted and came to Gabrielle's side a bit irritated that she ran off without him. Gabrielle frowned and walked through the crowd and only feared that it was Eve leading this rampage. She wanted to yell out her name or at least acknowledge that she was here but she knew nobody could hear or see her.

She saw the woman on the horse turn around and expected to see Eve and her heart raced almost begging to come right out of her chest. Once she saw the woman turn around it was not Eve, it was someone else, someone she didn't recognize. Gabrielle frowned a bit confused at that. She turned to Ares, "if that's not Eve...then who in Hades is that woman?" she folded her arms.

He sighed, "I have something else to show you, Gabrielle," he grabbed her hand and they disappeared from the burning village.

* * *

They were now in Xena's palace in Athens. Gabrielle saw that nothing had really changed except the palace was void of children, much like it was in this awful place. She recognized this room, it was Xena's royal chambers and hardly anyone came in here unless it was for discussing treaties with guests that showed up. She saw a large shrine filled with flowers and she didn't want to look as she had a feeling who it was.

She peered down into the glass floor and saw Xena's body incased beneath the floor and then she took a closer look. Her hair had that same white silvery streak in it just like she had currently after she killed Marc Antony for the second time, she noted that. "And where is Eve?" she demanded of the War God.

He pointed to the open window and Gabrielle frowned, marching over to the window and saw Eve commanding an entire Greek army and she wore gold armor with a red cape. Her mouth gaped, but she refused to believe that a sweet girl like Eve could turn into a monster, but there was something odd. The woman in the village was not Eve, it was someone else. Gabrielle couldn't imagine what Xena must have felt when she saw all of this and she kept it to herself for fifteen years. She now understood why Xena had shut herself off from the world and her own empire. She didn't want this to happen to her daughter or anyone around her so she ran away from Athens to Cairo. But Gabrielle wasn't fully convinced of this alternate vision that Ares showed her.

"Xena mentioned that I fought against Eve. I would never do something like that," she frowned, very skeptical of this vision. She smirked, "take me down there so I can observe what Eve is doing."

"Gabrielle that is not necessary," he smiled.

She spun her head around with wild eyes, "I said take me there! I can smell a rat," she yelled and Ares groaned but did as she commanded.

Now on the training grounds she saw Eve walking through two lines of men instructing them on how to fight against the enemy and the enemy was the Assyrian Kingdom and the Romans who occupied it. Gabrielle walked through the men going completely unnoticed and saw a side of Eve that reminded her of Xena. She was very tactical and that made her smile. Hers and Xena's training had not been in vain after all, she thought. But there was something missing here. Eve wouldn't attack Assyria unless she had good reason and why would she be fighting Eve in the first place? Whatever Ares showed Xena all those years ago had some missing segments in it.

After Eve had finished giving instructions they all saluted her and she left the training grounds. Gabrielle saw her come back into the palace and she followed her. Ares pulled on her arm and she grunted, trying to snatch her arm away. "No Gabrielle, you'll ruin everything!" he spat.

Gabrielle smirked, "you said you're not real so I'm not going to listen to you! I'm going to follow her!" she kicked the War God in the groin and ran into the palace.

Huffing and puffing she saw Eve head into the royal chambers, just where she was a few moments ago. Gabrielle saw Eve take off her plumed helmet and kneel down close to Xena's lifeless body. Gabrielle tread carefully and came to see Eve whispering to herself holding a flower in her hand. Gabrielle smiled sadly and Eve placed a flower on her mother's shrine.

"I promise I will bring your empire out of this mess, mother, like I said I would," she whispered then looked up at the ceiling. Gabrielle knelt down next to Eve and touched her hand but her touch was nonexistent. She forgot and sighed audibly watching Eve look up at the ceiling. Eve looked at her mother once again and Gabrielle wouldn't look at Xena. She couldn't be dead, that was not an option and this life was all a lie. Eve sighed, "none of this would have happened if I hadn't accepted Eris' offer, mother. I hope one day you can forgive me. I brought shame to your name and will have to attack Gabrielle and Solan because of my horrible decisions."

Gabrielle frowned, "Eris?" what does that goddess have to do with any of this? Eve got up and grabbed her helmet. The blonde sat staring down at Xena's body then she knew that this vision was more than Ares, it was his sister as well and that must mean that...Eve was or will speak to Eris and soon this will all end. Xena's hair was definitely the key to everything. That streak in it was the same one she got in that alternate world.

She could stop this from coming true and they could go home, she hoped. Ares appeared by her side and she folded her arms. "Take me back to Xena."

"You think you have it all figured out, don't you?" he mocked.

She nodded her head, "Xena didn't see any of this! She only saw what you wanted her to see! You deceived her _again_ , you bastard!" she shoved Ares into a wall and he grunted. "You wanted her to see this destruction and made her suffer for fifteen years for it!" she saw a sword and grabbed it off the wall. "Want to see if you can bleed again, Ares?" she smirked and brought the blade up to his neck.

Ares put up his hands, fearful of the small blonde warrior. "Alright! You win...for now," he frowned and disappeared.

* * *

Gabrielle was brought back to the dark place where Xena was again still lying on the floor unconscious. She ran to her and slapped her in the face very harshly. "Xena!" she shook her body and finally saw the empress's eyes open slowly. Her blue eyes blinked and Gabrielle smiled as wide as possible and hugged Xena close to her chest.

Xena coughed and the pain in her torso was now gone. She pulled away from Gabrielle's embrace then noticed where they were. It was a dark place, void of color, people, voices. It was so quiet she could hear her own thoughts speaking to her.

"Xena, I saw the vision of Eve...Ares took me there," she whispered and the empress frowned, shaking her head trying to figure everything out.

"You really saw it?" Xena pleaded with her large blue eyes. She didn't feel crazy anymore now that Gabrielle had seen everything.

Gabrielle nodded, "yes I did and it was a lie. Everything Ares showed you was a lie. Eve didn't destroy your home, someone else did." Xena's eyes widened once she heard that. For a moment hope came into her mind and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Eve said she accepted Eris' offer. Ares' sister is the problem, Xena and she's trying to deceive Eve."

Xena frowned deeply, "Eris? All this time I thought it was Ares..." she couldn't wrap her head around all of this.

In the darkness clapping of hands was heard and both of them turned their heads to the sound. Then a tall figure came out of the darkness under a stream of light. Eris stood still clapping her hands and her golden eyes twinkled. "You blondes are so annoying," she sighed and folded her arms.

Xena and Gabrielle stood up, the first time seeing the goddess and she was very slim, tall and had dark hair. Eris walked around the two women with her hands behind her back observing Xena's new hair. "That's a nice white streak you got there," she smirked. Xena frowned and reached for her sword and it disappeared from her hip. Her mouth gaped and Eris smiled. "I have to give you credit for finally figuring it out, Gabrielle. Ares always said that you were very smart, I never believed him."

"What are you doing with Eve?" Xena demanded, tilting her chin at the goddess. Eris appeared behind Xena and twirled her hair around her finger. Xena snarled at the goddess.

"The same thing that Ares did to you so long ago. She will be mine," she said with a smug smile. Gabrielle stepped away from the goddess and Xena rolled her eyes.

"Enough of your games. I'm not going to stand around and allow you to take control of my daughter. I'd rather die first," she turned to the goddess and Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear.

Eris shrugged at the warrior and let out a loud sigh. "That can be arranged. You know that vision that my dear brother showed you, that is only a year from now." Xena growled and grabbed hold of the goddess neck and Eris frowned then pushed Xena a few feet away from her.

Gabrielle ran to Xena to help her up and Eris walked over to the two women. "You are so irritating!" she groaned then let out a loud ear bleeding scream and shook the entire ground. Xena and Gabrielle covered their ears and watched the goddess as her scream filled the entire room. Blood poured from both of their ears as they tried so hard to block it out.

Eris' scream faded away and she frowned at the two. Xena uncovered her ears and smirked, "that was quite a tantrum" she teased the goddess.

The goddess lifted Xena off the floor as she gripped her neck. Xena's boots lifted a few inches off the ground and her eyes widened staring right into Eris' gold eyes. Gabrielle tried to pull Eris' hand off Xena but she was tossed aside. Eris grinned wickedly at Xena as her grip tightened around the warrior's neck. She pulled out the vial of the elixir and presented it to Xena. "Now this...this is what you used on yourself. I suppose Ares didn't tell you what it does to mortals, huh?"

She snickered as Xena coughed. She finally let go and Xena dropped to the floor. Gabrielle huffed and crawled over towards Xena then Eris waved her hand frowning at the blonde. "You stay there!" she prevented Gabrielle from moving any further. She paced in front of the empress admiring the bottle. "I love my brother like any sister would, but sometimes he can be so...spontaneous!" she grinned, chuckling to herself. Xena coughed rubbing her neck feeling the burns left behind from Eris' grip. "He used this on you without your permission. He broke the first rule. He also threatened you, rule number two, which he also broke," she shrugged. "Oh and number three, since he was so irresponsible, your soul is vulnerable so that means any Olympian can control you, so I decided to take the job."

Gabrielle frowned thinking over everything she had read. She didn't get that far into the text, which would explain why Ares was slowly losing his powers since he acted so irresponsibly. "But I used the elixir too," she blurted out.

Eris tapped her fingernails on the bottle and nodded. "So you did but you did it to help Xena. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save your dear friend. You acted selflessly, Xena did not," she turned her attention to the empress with a smug grin.

Gabrielle shook her head not understanding this, "but Xena only used the elixir to save her family. Isn't that selfless?" she questioned the goddess.

Eris smiled at Xena and folded her arms. "Yes Xena why don't you tell her what _really_ went through your mind when you used the elixir?"

Gabrielle turned to Xena with a curious look. "Xena...?"

Xena's head lowered ashamed of herself. Though Gabrielle was right, she did it to save her family, but the thoughts in the back of her mind of becoming invincible and a threat to all who despised her haunted her. She couldn't hide from the truth in the back of her mind.

Gabrielle shook her head, "Xena! Tell me she's wrong!" she yelled and Xena turned away, refusing to look at her friend. Gabrielle's eyes widened and she groaned loudly.

Eris smiled, "yes Xena why don't you tell your friend the whole truth? You wanted to be a powerful empress again without aging. Ares always said you could be the best. Well," she sighed, "I guess being the best comes with a price, doesn't it?" she ridiculed.

"Xena, how could you do this?" Gabrielle said barely above a whisper. Xena's eyes filled with tears and she heard her friend, but did not respond. She felt too ashamed of herself. If she could, she'd take it all back and would have never listened to Ares in the first place.

Eris sighed becoming bored of this pity party. "Well since I don't really need you...you can go back to your sad little life," she shooed away Gabrielle and she disappeared from the dark room. Xena spun around and saw Gabrielle was no longer with her. She stared up at the intimidating goddess and frowned deeply. Eris grinned and knelt down to Xena's eye level. "As for you...you may want to make a deal with me." She raised the bottle close to Xena's eyes with a smug smile.

* * *

Gabrielle woke up gasping for air and she examined her surroundings. She felt the floor beneath her moving and realized she was on a ship. She saw Xena lying down on a bed next to her and saw her hair had the white streak in it just like it was in the alternate world. Everything that happened to Xena carried over into reality. She wondered why they were on a ship and she opened the door running to the deck.

She scanned the area and saw Eve talking with Solan and she had a solemn face. Gabrielle ran up to her and touched Eve's shoulder. The princess turned around and her eyes grew in shock as she was staring at Gabrielle.

"Gabrielle!" she hugged her tightly and Gabrielle smiled warmly, wrapping her arms around her body. She pulled away and remained hopeful. "Did mother wake up too?"

The blonde pursed her lips and that meant no in Eve's eyes. "I'm afraid not, Eve, but she's in a lot of trouble right now." She then frowned and stared into the princess's blue eyes. "You and I need to talk about Eris," she said in a low voice.

She saw the initial surprise in Eve's eyes and then she turned away, a bit afraid to acknowledge her.

Solan folded his arms, a bit lost in this conversation. "Who is Eris?"

Gabrielle and Eve looked to him and the blonde folded her arms. "Eve will explain, won't you?" she furrowed her eyebrows and Eve lowered her head in shame.


	11. Chapter 11

_A boy gone astray, deceived by a god_  
Remembers the day, bereft of his blood  
Might to your dismay now equal we meet  
Self righteous repay, you kneel by my feet, I stand  
By the sword in my hand  
I will conquer the land  
I will decimate and decapitate  
Those who question the sword in my hand  
I seek what you took, I promise you'll pay  
By hook or by crook, a boy gone astray I stand  
By the sword in my hand  
I will conquer the land

_Song: Tyr –The Sword in My Hand_

_From The Persian King to Eve_

_Chapter 11_

Assyria Kingdom

Octavius stood outside walking around the new kingdom he had conquered. The Assyrian King had put up quite a fight with Solan by his side, though the blonde warrior was gone now and Allat was alone. His mother had been assassinated by the Romans a few years ago because she resisted them. She wanted to have her kingdom free of Romans and Allat thought he had failed his mother and his people. Octavius now had Assyria in his grasp and nobody was there to aid him, not even their formidable ally, the Greek Empire. Xena had been long gone from Athens ever since she lost that war ten years ago. Octavius knew that Xena was still sour about the loss and he enjoyed it. he wanted Xena to suffer and he also wanted her gone. He wouldn't have the Greek Empire until Xena was out of the picture permanently and that meant death.

Allat had managed to cooperate with the Romans and he was no longer allowed to govern his people, but serve himself to the Roman Empire, as if he had a choice. Octavius smiled as he saw the blue Mediterranean Sea gazing back at him. He closed his eyes enjoying the scenery. It was far better to look at than Rome. Rome was great and that was his home but he really liked Assyria. It was so beautiful here, he could understand why Zenobia wanted to keep him away and she did well for many years until her death. Octavius knew that he wanted to make Palmyra his when Zenobia refused to give her land to the Romans and even cut off the grain from Egypt to Rome, which was the last straw. It took him five years to find Zenobia and to execute her once and for all. Now, if he was only so lucky with Xena. That'd be a great treasure, but Xena was hiding in Egypt.

Tiberius walked up to him with a forlorn look on his face which troubled the emperor. He didn't want to see that face which only meant there could be bad news. He couldn't think of anything that stood in his way. He hoped it wasn't too ridiculous and something he could handle easily. Once he walked up to the emperor Tiberius clicked his heels together tilting his head at his emperor.

"Sir, there are ships docked at Athens, I just received word from one of our scouts in Crete." He looked for a change of emotion in the emperor's face but he was left with a blank face.

"Are these ships...Greek?" Octavius raised an eyebrow, hoping that it wouldn't be.

Tiberius nodded his head, "war ships and a few Egyptian ships, sir. They are Xena's men. She's back in Athens."

Octavius smiled mockingly and swayed back and forth on his heels. "So Xena has decided to come back to Greece. She must have been feeling homesick," he scoffed. "We shall make a visit to Xena's palace in Athens. I wish to see her again, I do enjoy her jokes," he chuckled lightly then turned on his heel and left to his post in the Assyrian Kingdom.

* * *

The Persian Empire

Samuel's right hand man came in interrupting his time with a few women indulging him with opium and vast amounts of food. The king sat up in his throne pushing one of the women off him and cleared his throat as his assistant stood patiently. "You have some information for me?" he smiled charmingly.

The man nodded, "indeed, your majesty. Xena is back in Athens again. She has her ships docked there as we speak."

Samuel stood up with a large frown. "Really? That is very interesting. The minute I have a chance to attack she suddenly goes back to her humble abode." He rubbed his chin then folded his arms leaning towards his assistant with an eager smile. "And Eve? She is there too?" the man nodded affirming his question. "I always thought she was very beautiful. I wish to see her." He snapped his fingers then plopped down on his throne. "Make it happen," the assistant began leaving and Samuel called out, "don't be forceful with her. This is a civilized meeting, Balal. I don't want her mother coming after me," he rolled his eyes then began chatting with the various women surrounding him.

Balal turned around as a sudden thought came to his mind. "And if she resists, your highness?"

Samuel sighed audibly as he was getting annoyed being interrupted for the second time in a row. "This is mandatory, not up for discussion. She'll come," he winked and went back to the subtle entertainment.

* * *

Eris circled Xena in the barely lit abyss. Xena watched her every move with malice in her icy eyes. The goddess tapped the vial against her palm as she was thinking what the empress might do once she presented her offer.

"So Xena...my brother has a thing for you, obviously," Eris grinned sneakily. Xena did not answer but her eyes remained glued to the goddess. "He is losing his godhood you know," she casually said.

Xena's eyes widened once she heard that. Could this be because of what he did to her? Or was it because Eris was doubling as his replacement and he was unaware? Or was this because of the consequences of the elixir? She didn't understand the ways of the gods even after so many years, but she tried to keep out of their way as much as possible, though it proved to be impossible even to ignore them. Eris was targeting Eve and she had no idea.

"I could care less about Ares and his godhood. It was his idea to use the stupid elixir and he is the one who got himself in this mess, not me," Xena frowned. Eris nodded her head in agreement then stopped dead in her tracks. "What do you want with my daughter? She is of no use to you."

Eris chuckled then knelt down close to Xena, touching her cheek with her fingernail. Xena snatched her face away in disgust. "See that's where you're wrong, but it will be more difficult since now you know about our little friendship," she hummed.

"She will never follow you," Xena's eyes narrowed and Eris grinned smugly.

Xena eyed the elixir in the goddess' hand and head butted the woman. As soon as she did Eris' hold on the vial loosened and Xena grabbed the bottle. The goddess stumbled back then she stood upright, furrowing her dark thick eyebrows and clenched her teeth. "You witch," she then grew in size, at least a foot or so taller than Xena. The empress's eyes grew in shock as she saw the goddess grow in numerable size right before her. She was more menacing and her eyes had lightened a few shades and it even looked like her fingernails had grown even longer than they were. "You could have listened to me and it would have been easy for you!" she yelled and Xena stood up backing away.

Eris picked up Xena and threw her across the now very lit room. Xena groaned and her eyes scanned the area. They were in a desert area now and sand blew around her. She turned around to see Eris sauntering over to her with a menacing glare. Xena scooted back and clutched the elixir in her palm, she quickly got up hugging her dislocated shoulder, wincing in pain as she continued to back away from the nearing Chaos Goddess.

Xena grinned mischievously and uncorked the bottle causing the goddess to halt in her step, glaring at her with her glowing golden eyes. "What if I am willing to use the rest of this...what will happen to you then?"

Eris growled, "you know nothing of the powers of that elixir, Xena!" she pointed her finger and came closer. Xena tipped over the bottle towards her wrist and Eris frowned. "Don't you dare!"

Xena's grin remained firmly planted on her lips, "and if I do dare?" she tipped the bottle closer to her flesh and Eris screamed coming towards her. Xena's smile disappeared and she poured all of the contents of the elixir onto her wrists, neck and face. Eris' eyes widened and she took a step backwards as if almost afraid of her. Xena raised an eyebrow, not feeling any different she dropped the bottle and smashed it with her boot's heel.

Eris shook her head, "what have you...done...?" her eyes wide and fearful of Xena now. Xena felt the same stabbing pain in her abdomen and she collapsed onto the ground, clutching at her torso with her arm.

The desert was gone and now they were back in the dark abyss. Eris downsized to her normal height and watched Xena on the ground groaning in pain. "Ares never said you were crazy.." she mused as she took a few steps closer she saw Xena was unresponsive.

Xena opened her eyes and looked at her hands, they were void of all wrinkles and her nails were a bright youthful pink. She touched her face and it was like it was many years ago, before Eve, before Gabrielle. She was youthful again, she could feel it. she stood up and rotated her shoulder, it was no longer dislocated and she felt like she was born anew. She stared down at her hands then grinned at the fearful goddess. Xena stepped closer to the goddess, a bit prideful of what she had become. "Now...I used this elixir selflessly...to save my daughter," she frowned deeply. She felt her sword reappear on her hip again and she smiled widely then unsheathed it, pointing the blade at Eris. "Now...leave her alone!"

Eris folded her arms, "you're insane."

"Many people say that, now send me back." She demanded.

The goddess grunted, "you have no idea what you have just done, Xena! You have won this time, but you won't win in the long run," she smiled smugly and disappeared in the darkness.

Xena breathed heavily as the goddess was now gone from her sight. She couldn't believe she just did that, but it had to be selfless. It was true that she thought of herself the first time she used the elixir, but now, it was for someone else and that's what the goddess said it was supposed to be used for. She looked around and she was all alone in the dark once more. She thought maybe that she'd close her eyes and drift off, hoping that she'd awaken in Egypt again with Gabrielle, Solan and Eve after so long being away from them all, it was starting to burden her emotions.

* * *

Gabrielle paced around Xena's bedroom as Eve told her everything that Eris had told her. She then stared at Xena's body laying there void of color and all life within her. Eve sat in a chair close to the bed and rested her palm on her chin, staring at her mother, hoping she'd come to.

"Eve, why didn't you say something before?" Gabrielle frowned.

Eve sighed heavily, "she threatened me Gabrielle. I didn't know what to do. I should have also told everyone about Samuel. I had no idea that was him, I swear by all the gods," she groaned becoming frustrated with her choices over the last few days. She brushed her mother's hair away from her face and took notice of the strange white streak in her raven hair. "Why is her hair like that?"

Gabrielle shook her head, "it's a long story. You know he's going to attack Athens, right?" she continued to pace. "This is a mess. What would Xena do..." she tapped her lips with her fingertips gently.

Eve looked at her mother then saw her fingers twitching slightly. She stood up and peered over her body to see if she would awaken. She held onto her hand with a hopeful smile. "Gabrielle! Come here!" Gabrielle frowned then saw Xena's eyebrows twitch and her lips parted. The blonde's eyes widened and she smiled, sitting on the bed next to Xena. She had hoped that was able to escape from Eris and it was appearing like she did or something else was happening.

Xena's eyes fluttered open and her vision was rather blurry but she saw Eve, finally, and her dear companion sitting next to her with a giant smile on her face. A small exhausted smile appeared on the empress's lips and she touched Eve's face with the backside of her hand. Eve's eyes swelled with tears and Xena frowned. "Don't cry," she smiled and Eve kissed her mother's hand.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, mother. Gabrielle told me everything...about Eris..." she held herself solely responsible for everything.

Xena sat up slowly and she felt like she had been laying down for quite some time. She wasn't all there obviously and she felt worse than when she was wounded from a tough battle. She popped her back and winced in pain. "Yes...that goddess is quite a troublemaker.." she jested and Gabrielle rolled her eyes, never an appropriate time for jokes, she thought.

Eve wiped her tear stained cheeks and aided Xena to get up off the bed. "So what happened between you and Eris?"

Xena grinned and pat her daughter's cheek lightly, "I'll tell you when you're older," she brushed past Eve and went to look at herself in the mirror. She appeared younger, more youthful, except for that white thick strand of hair in her black locks. She frowned and ran her fingers through her hair. Then she realized that they were definitely not in Egypt, they were in Athens. Anxiety began to stir inside of her and she thought this was some alternate reality. She swiftly turned around and Gabrielle saw the realization in her eyes.

"This is real, Xena. We're back in Athens. Eve decided to come back here..." she slowly tread closer to Xena and saw her relax a bit.

_Oh good, I was beginning to think I was insane._ "What made you want to come back to Athens?" she asked curiously.

Gabrielle folded her arms and raised her eyebrow at Eve. The princess sighed, once more feeling ashamed of herself. Xena then copied her blonde consort and Eve turned away from them both, glaring at her. "Samuel wanted to attack Athens and I just...I just couldn't let that happen!"

Xena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose then exhaled deeply taking this all in. It seemed that she was just transported to more bullshit she had to deal with, but in truth, she looked forward to this. She smiled at her daughter and Eve raised a confused eyebrow. "Well, it looks like I arrived just in time to save you once again from the Persians," she jested then opened the door. She saw two guards standing by and they looked surprised to see her after so many days of lying in bed. "Boys," she greeted with a warm smile and they bowed as a late reaction and she left their sides.

Gabrielle caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm. "Xena, how did you get away from Eris?" she whispered.

Xena pursed her lips and pat her friend's hand. "Later, Gabrielle." Her friend eyed her curiously and she smiled. "No secrets anymore, I promise." She leaned down and kissed Gabrielle's cheek softly and saw shock in her eyes. She grabbed hold of her hands tightly, "you're the best thing in my life, Gabrielle. I want you to know that. I appreciate everything you do for me. You'll never disappoint me." She kissed her again and then left her side leaving Gabrielle bemused and a bit flabbergasted.

Solan rounded the corner and saw his mother walking through the halls. His jaw dropped then she caught glimpse of him and smiled in his direction. Running towards her he hugged her tightly and she was a bit set back. "Mother, you're alright! You were beginning to worry me!"

Xena smiled and kissed Solan's forehead. "Of course I'm alright. I had some business to take care of," she winked. "Solan," she began seriously and he raised his brows, "I'm glad you decided to come live with me." She sighed and touched his short blonde locks, "I just wish it could have been sooner," she admitted sadly.

Solan shook his head and grabbed his mother's hand warmly, "I don't blame you for anything, mother. You have taught me so many things over the years."

She nodded, glad he understood where she was coming from. "Great. Ready to learn some more?" she wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders and began treading down the long marble halls. "I need you to command my army, you can do that, right?" she smirked.

Solan nodded, "yes!" he grinned, eager to showcase his skills to his mother. She spoke to him as they walked together. She explained that the Persians were going to come here and attack or so Samuel thinks. She wanted to be ready in case the arrogant Persian King was going to come here. She wasn't going to let a young king overstep her and take over her empire. She was going to revive her empire like she should have done years ago. This was a new beginning for her.

As they walked together he caught a glimpse of her hair. "What happened to your hair?" he mused.

* * *

The following day Xena laid in bed as the sun rose she stared at the bright sun, blinking slowly adjusting to the sunlight. She felt around in her bed and touched a leg close to hers. She almost forgot that Gabrielle was with her and she rolled over staring at her. She was still sleeping. Xena bit her lip and felt a bit playful she grabbed a pillow and smacked Gabrielle's face.

Gabrielle grumpily woke up and rubbed her face. She turned to see Xena's playful smile on her face. "By the gods Xena, don't you know I hate waking up early!" she rolled over covering her face with the blankets. Xena grabbed the blankets and pulled them away from her face. Gabrielle opened one eye and smirked at Xena. "What is with you?" she chuckled lowly.

Xena shrugged her bare shoulder, "I'm just happy to be here with you and not somewhere else," she raised an eyebrow and Gabrielle knew what she meant by that. She got out of bed and wrapped her black robe around her body, brushing her fingers through her long hair.

Gabrielle pulled the covers up to her chest and watched Xena waltz over to her mirror, staring at herself then she began brushing her hair. "So strange what happened to your hair..." she yawned.

Xena sighed, "it's better than being dead, I suppose," she joked and Gabrielle sighed.

"Yeah I guess so. It's good to see you back in your own element you know," she began and Xena turned to face her. "It feels good to be back in Athens. I really missed this place. Eve was right, you don't belong in Egypt."

Xena nodded, "I should have never left Athens, but now we are back and I'm not going to let these arrogant emperors step all over me again." She remained determined to save her empire and push the Romans out for good.

"And that's the Xena I know and love!" Gabrielle mused and Xena smirked at her blonde friend. Suddenly the door creaked open and Eve poked her head in. Xena set the hairbrush down and smiled at her daughter and told her to come in.

Eve held two scrolls in her hand and a solemn face. Xena frowned and Gabrielle grabbed a robe to wrap around her body and exited the bed to come to stand alongside Xena. "These are from Samuel and Octavius," she pushed the scrolls forward and Xena eyed Gabrielle.

Gabrielle sighed and took the scrolls, _of course Xena wouldn't read them_. She broke the wax seal and read Octavius' message first. "Octavius is coming here, he wants to meet with you," she eyed Xena.

The empress smugly smiled. "Good, I'm looking forward to it." she folded her arms. "And the Persian's message?" she egged Gabrielle on to read it and quickly too.

The blonde's eyes widened and she rolled the scroll back up. Xena saw the shocked look in her friend's eyes. Eve looked a bit nervous even though she hadn't read them. Gabrielle glanced over at the princess and said lowly, "he wants you to come to Persia as a guest..."

Xena felt her blood pressure rising the moment she heard that. "Absolutely not!"

Xena and Gabrielle argued with each other in whispers while Eve completely blocked them out. She understood why her mother would forbid her to go to Persia, but she created this mess. She saw they were still arguing a few moments later and she frowned deeply. "Stop!" the two stopped and blinked at her. "I will go. This is my fault."

Xena shook her head, "I will not allow it."

Eve closed her eyes begging for serenity. "Mother I understand why you don't want me to go, but I need to go. I could stop him from coming to attack Athens. I'll be careful..." she pleaded. Xena folded her arms and remained silent.

Gabrielle felt Xena's anger radiating and she smiled weakly at the princess. "Eve, we don't know if he will kill you or not. It's not safe."

Eve huffed, "you two always say I'm not ready for any type of responsibility and when I actually do something wrong I am not given the chance to prove myself and fix the situation!" she yelled and threw her hands in the air. Xena's face softened hearing her daughter's frustration. "How am I supposed to learn from my mistakes if you both won't let me?!"

Xena suddenly felt like a hypocrite and an awful mother when it came to teaching her child about consequences. She had many things she had to fix in herself and she didn't want Eve to suffer the same way. She sighed and Eve glared at her with her large blue eyes, mirroring her own. "I don't want you to go alone."

Eve smiled slightly, a bit hopeful that her mother had relented, "Solan can come with me." Xena eyed Gabrielle for the go ahead and the blonde nodded in her direction. Eve's smile grew then she hugged her mother, surprising her sudden outburst. "I won't disappoint you!" she hugged her tightly and Xena smiled.

"You will never disappoint me, Eve," she pulled away then cupped her cheek. "Be careful or I will go there myself," she grinned and Eve nodded leaving the room.

After Eve closed the door Gabrielle threw the scrolls on the floor and Xena blinked, shocked at her initial response. "Are you crazy?! I can't believe you're allowing her to go there!"

Xena grabbed a couple of towels and threw one at Gabrielle. "Solan will protect her. If anything happens to her I will make sure Samuel won't live to see another day." She opened the door to her bathroom and had an eager smile. "Are you coming?"

Gabrielle groaned, "you make it impossible to say no, you know that?"

Xena nodded, "I know." She said nonchalantly.


	12. Chapter 12

_Crownless again shall be the queen_  
Trophy on her grave still remains unseen  
A boat on the river confessing the sins  
The Riddler revealing the deep hidden things

_Crownless again shall be the king_   
_A gull covered in oil with a broken wing_   
_A hitcher on a road alone and lost_   
_Iron sharpens iron... - a truth that once was_

_Mine is the Earth and the sword in the stone_   
_Mine is the throne for the idol_   
_One fleeting moment and it is all gone_   
_Crownless again_   
_Will I fall?_   
_Song: Nightwish –Crownless_

_The Greek Empire vs. The Roman Empire_

**AN: yes Xena is back and there will be some hell to pay for a few people. And Eve is heading into a direction that she thinks she can control. Good luck and thanks for following along ;)**

_Chapter 12_

A few days later Samuel had sent some of his best men and his assistant, Balal, to retrieve Eve and bring her to Persia, willingly of course. They arrived mid-afternoon at the entrance of the large Athenian palace in the middle of nowhere, far from civilization. Balal himself had never been to the palace that belonged to the Grecian empress and it was quite large, even larger than the his king's palace in Persia.

The Persian soldiers were granted entrance once they stated who they were and what business they had with the empress. Balal stepped inside and saw the empress in flesh for the first time. She was everything that Samuel said she would be. She was intimidating, yet had a beautiful aura about her and once he saw the princess, he knew instantly that was Xena's daughter. She too had her height, her stature, icy blue eyes and dark hair, though, her hair was much curlier while her mother's was stick straight. Balal saw the two talking amongst themselves and he waited patiently.

Eve turned her head as her mother was speaking to her and saw the Persian soldiers waiting for her to go with them. A hand came to her shoulder and she swiftly turned to see the concern in her mother's eyes. She grinned lightly and grabbed hold of her mother's hand, squeezing tightly. "Don't worry, mother, if anything happens I will –"

"Let me know immediately," Xena said firmly and Eve nodded, knowing she was quite serious. She never joked about her safety and Eve knew that to be true. She had saved her before and would die for her if it came to that. Xena hugged Eve tightly as if hugging her for the first and last time. The young princess gasped for air and pat her mother's shoulder.

Gabrielle stifled a laugh and pulled on Xena's shoulder. Without realizing she was crushing her own daughter Xena pulled away with an embarrassed smile. "She will be back, right?" she eyed Eve carefully.

Eve nodded and hugged Gabrielle as well before she left. Gabrielle brushed a few long strands of hair away from her face and grinned widely. "I will fix this, I promise." She kissed Gabrielle's cheek then her mother's and let out a large sigh. She walked off heading to Balal and the king's soldiers waiting for her patiently.

Solan came out of the palace in his armor and Xena grabbed his shoulder forcefully, "if anything happens to her there will be terrible consequences not just for Samuel but for you too," she whispered lowly. Her son smiled nodding his head, completely understanding his mother's over protectiveness of Eve. She was much younger than him and she was his mother's baby in her eyes even if she was a young woman now.

"No need to threaten me, mother. I will protect Eve. She is my little sister after all," he smirked. He walked off going to grab a horse and saw Eve waving him to hurry it up. He mocked her waving and mounted the horse to trot alongside the Persian soldiers.

Xena called out, "don't let her out of your sight, Solan." She added and folded her arms, straightening herself. Solan rolled his eyes and nodded, suddenly feeling like she didn't trust him or had little faith in him. He wouldn't let that Persian King come a foot near his sister unless she allowed it.

Gabrielle and Xena watched the crew leave the palace and Eve was in a really nice caravan that Samuel sent for her, which Xena thought was really suspicious. As they rounded the gates they were no longer seen to the naked eye anymore and Xena turned to Gabrielle with a grimace. "Do you think this is a good idea?"

"Nope," Gabrielle shook her head, "but I trust that Solan will keep her safe and Samuel really liked Eve when they were children."

Xena pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes, yes she definitely remembered that very well. "That is what worries me, Gabrielle." She turned on her heel and entered the palace with Gabrielle skipping behind her. "Phraates tried to get the two married, if you don't remember," she scoffed.

The palace that she left behind was just as she remembered it would be. Children in classes and very educated teachers of course. She liked seeing this and she missed it greatly while in Egypt. She really enjoyed seeing the children learning in the place which she lived in. As soon as she walked through the halls a young girl ran into the front of her as she was running down the hallway in a hurry.

The child looked up at the empress with apologetic eyes. Xena smiled and knelt down, "hello there, where are you running off to in such a hurry?"

The child grinned at the empress, no longer fearing the empress's reaction any longer. She shrugged her small shoulders, "I have art class in a little bit," she said in her small voice. Xena looked up at Gabrielle with a warm smile. She did miss interacting with the students when she had the chance to and since she was so busy she hardly had any free time to interact, except when she taught the combat class all those years ago. She thought she should do that again since she was here. It would give her something more relaxing to do when she wasn't caught up with everything else in her life.

"I don't want to make you late," Xena told the young girl and stood up. "Get going now," she smiled making a path for the young girl and she ran past her and Gabrielle.

Gabrielle folded her arms with a smug grin. "You miss the children, don't you?" Xena nodded in agreement and they walked together outside to see some of the elder students studying quietly outside. Their eyes were glued to their scrolls not even acknowledging their entrance.

Xena turned to Gabrielle, "I want to start my combat class again. I think the children would really enjoy it. What do you think?" her eyes lit up and that was hard for Gabrielle to resist.

The blonde chuckled lightly, "I think it's a great idea, Xena. Plus, it would give you something to do, I mean, something _fun_ to do," she corrected herself.

Xena liked the idea of renewing that class. She really enjoyed teaching those girls how to fight, but fight well and not violently. "I want to start as soon as possible. Tomorrow, perhaps," she nodded for her own self affirmation. Gabrielle thought Xena was being a bit hasty about this, though she didn't want to rain on her parade. She only had come out of that awful nightmare world a few days ago and though she saw a change in Xena, a good one. She hadn't been herself for a long time and she felt she was coming back to her regular self after a decade of harboring secrets. Her eyes were not tired anymore and her stature had changed as well. She was Xena again, after so long of being lost in herself, she was normal again.

Together they walked through the gardens that were definitely missed but had grown ten times since they left Athens. Xena was not one for enjoying flowers or nature but Gabrielle sensed a change in her. She was actually enjoying the lush green scenery which she was glad, but it was something new.

"Gabrielle, I told you I wasn't going to keep secrets anymore," Xena began softly as they walked through a large archway filled with vines and orchids. Gabrielle remained quiet following by her side with her hands behind her back. She could only expect the worse. "I used the entire elixir to be free from Eris' world. She used that as a hold on me and wanted to get close to Eve and I just couldn't allow that to happen. I have hurt you and I can't apologize enough for that, Gabrielle. You risked your life to come and save me from that awful place and I take you for granted. Somehow you are always saving me from my mistakes." She stopped and turned to her companion, who had doe eyes and saw her cheeks redden, though she couldn't tell if she was angry, sad or surprised. She grabbed her hands, grasping them tautly. "When I was in my palace in that other place...you acted different towards me," she frowned and sighed not sure how to continue with her thought.

Gabrielle waited patiently and saw Xena slipping. "Different how?" she egged her on and Xena looked up into her green eyes. She smiled warmly, allowing her to have her full attention.

"I told you that I didn't belong here... _there_ , in Athens, that I belonged in Egypt and you...you didn't believe me. You thought I was crazy and that I...was not acting like myself." She sighed, hoping this was going to come out easier than she thought, but it wasn't. "It was then that I knew I was alone and it scared me. I never thought that I'd feel alone even with you there, but I did. I wanted you to believe me, but you didn't and I don't know why but...it was the first time I felt angry towards you. Perhaps, I was more angry with myself than with you, it sounds silly," she chuckled and covered her eyes, trying to feign embarrassment.

Gabrielle wasn't there when Xena was in that awful nightmare world, but obviously what she saw was something she didn't want. It was a good thing she decided to show up just in time and also explained why she was so hesitant to her first appearing before her. She had no idea what went on before she got there but now she knew. She grabbed Xena's hands and saw her watery eyes staring down at the dirt.

"Xena, whatever you saw there wasn't real and I always believe you, no matter how crazy it sounds," she jested lightly. "You are never alone but you sometimes shut yourself off from the rest of the world. You always think you can conquer things by yourself and you can, but sometimes...you can't. You need people, friends, to help you and you need to learn to accept the help," she lifted Xena's chin and saw a single tear fall off her cheek. She didn't like to see Xena cry, and it was a rare thing to see, but that was what made it all the more painful to watch.

Xena wiped her eyes and smirked, "you'd think I would have learned that after all these years being with you," she mumbled.

Gabrielle smiled, "it's never too late to learn how to accept yourself, Xena." A few short moments of silence passed between them and so she thought she'd ask one simple question, though it had complex answers. "Do you feel any different after using the elixir?"

Xena sighed, knowing that question was going to come up sooner or later. "I did, I mean I do. I feel rejuvenated, almost like a new person but I don't know...there was something Eris said. She was shocked and almost fearful when I used the rest of the elixir. I saw fear in her eyes."

Gabrielle tapped her chin pensively. "Maybe she is afraid that you could have killed her?"

The empress scoffed jokingly. "I cannot kill gods, Gabrielle. It must be something else, something else that we don't know." She frowned thinking of Ares once again, the person who got her into this mess. "If Ares would have never shown up, this would have never happened."

The blonde agreed but also disagreed with her. "But at the same time, this experience has changed you and in a good way. In some way, Ares did _some_ good." She smirked knowing that'd light a fire beneath Xena.

"That'll be the first and last time you ever admit that," Xena firmly said. Gabrielle did not abject to that at all. She didn't like Ares from the first moment she laid eyes on him, but in this case, he saved Xena from what she was. She was awful to be around, so moody, grumpy and just not in her own element, but now...she was normal again. And most importantly, they were back in Athens again, where everyone belonged –where _Xena_ belonged.

"So, all this time I thought Eve had turned but it was just Eris the entire time?" Xena referred to the vision Ares showed her fifteen years ago.

Gabrielle nodded, "yes. He hid the truth from you. He wanted to make you believe that Eve would betray everything you had taught her. In that sense...Ares is a pig," she smirked. Xena joined her in that statement of fact.

"He made me fear something that was never true to begin with," Xena shook her head feeling foolish for ever believing the War God. She knew that he lied to her on several occasions but that was just the icing on the cake. She was sure that she wouldn't see him anytime soon since his little plan didn't work and his sister was on her case as well as his. Whatever Eris had in mind obviously didn't work for now, as she told Xena. Xena only had to deal with Ares, no other disaster-causing Olympian and it sure sparked her when Eris wanted to control Eve. She wouldn't allow that to happen for several reasons. She knew that Eve had that fire inside of her as did Xena at that age, but as long as she stayed glued to her side, she would never turn to the dark side like Xena did. Eve was everything Xena wanted to be at that age and she wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

Though there was one thing that Eve seemingly pointed out very often and that was Xena's over protective nature. She wanted to keep Eve hidden and locked away so nobody could harm her but it only proved harder to do that as she grew older and had less control over her. At the young age of twenty two, Xena knew that she wouldn't be able to keep Eve by her side forever, no matter what path she took in the long run. But she was determined that it would be a peaceful path and not a violent one like the vision she saw, which turned out to be a facade more than a premonition. Xena knew that Ares was cunning but that almost seemed desperate in some regard.

Gabrielle saw Xena's mind was drifting off the longer they stood in the gardens. Her hand came to Xena's arm, shaking her out of her daze. "Are you alright?"

Xena shook her head and rubbed her temple, "yes, I'm fine, just thinking," she grinned.

"Well don't think too much," she teased.

Their moment together was interrupted by one of Xena's guards running to her with an urgent message. He huffed and then bowed his head towards her and she folded her arms. "Empress," he began breathlessly, "Octavius is arriving this evening from Assyria."

Xena's smile lit up her entire face and Gabrielle sensed the fire in Xena. She knew that Xena had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. She was definitely a changed woman. "Excellent," she hissed. "Prepare the west wing for the Roman," she demanded and the guard bobbed his head then left in a hurry back into the palace.

Gabrielle began sauntering with Xena back into the palace and they passed a few students whom were still studying quietly to themselves. "You are excited, aren't you?" she beamed.

The empress sighed, "I've been absent far too long, Gabrielle. It is time to take back what is mine," her pace quickened and Gabrielle frowned, not sure what exactly she meant by that.

"What do you mean 'take back what is yours'?" Gabrielle asked and Xena didn't answer. "Xena? Hello?" she groaned and caught up with her, pulling her arm. "You mean take back Greece?"

"No. I'm going to interrupt his little expanding empire party," Xena stormed off to her bedroom to get ready for this evening. Gabrielle blinked in shock, she thought that Xena had changed for good, which she did, but she came back with a vengeance and that was so...enthralling to hear. She smiled and ran up the stairs after Xena.

* * *

Eve arrived in Persia in a timely manner by horseback then by ship and then by horseback again to get to the palace. She remembered this place definitely since she had been there before when she was very young. It hadn't changed much except there were a lot more guards posted outside. She figured that when Phraates died the security around the palace expanded since Xena came there. She was not surprised, but she was surprised that Samuel asked to see her. She kidnapped him without knowing it was him and it had been quite a long time since she had seen him. He was very charming and he was very nice to her even after he told her that she captured him as a hostage. He was definitely not like his late father at all. She could tell even when she was young that he was not like Phraates.

The large doors opened and she saw Samuel standing at the entrance to greet her. She stepped out of the caravan and Solan jumped off his horse, wary of the Persian King with that smug look on his face. He would have to be extra careful around this guy, he thought.

Samuel walked down the steps and he glanced over at Solan, who he did not invite and did not recognize. "Who is this?" he said in almost a jealous tone. Eve turned to her brother and she smiled sweetly at the young king.

"This is Solan. He is my older brother," she hoped that Samuel would comply. Solan curtly nodded his head at the king and Samuel snickered. Eve leaned in close to the king, "mother wouldn't allow me to come unless someone else came with me," she whispered.

Samuel grinned and kissed Eve's hand, which he hoped that she wouldn't hate. She always hated being touched he remembered. "Well, I'm not going to harm you or anything," he winked. Eve smiled uncomfortably and Solan took notice of the charms the king had shown his sister and took note of it. "Please, come in," he gestured and Eve passed him and walked up the stairs. Solan trailed behind his sister and Samuel frowned at him then went in front of him. He grabbed Eve's hand aiding her up the stairs.

She eyed him cautiously, a bit nervous to be around him even after everything had happened. He probably had no idea that she knew that he wanted to attack Athens, which was a plus for her, though he wasn't stupid, she knew that much. She would have to be very careful around him, though it was nice to be around someone else besides her mother and Gabrielle. Even though she loved them dearly, she often felt like she was being suffocated by her mother and this was her time to set things right between the Persian and Greek empires.

They entered the royal throne room and Eve looked around. Nothing had really changed since she was last here. "Looks just as I remembered," she grinned. Samuel stepped in front of her and grabbed her hand and her eyes widened, afraid to take a step forward.

"Come sit with me. Your brother can watch from afar," he snapped his fingers at his guards and they blocked the entrance with large javelins in front of Solan. The blonde groaned but stood not willing to put up a fight. This wasn't the right time for that. As long as he could see Eve then everything was fine and as long as the king didn't do something stupid, then he would stay away.

Eve sat on the floor next to Samuel and wine was brought to them. Some servant girls also brought them a tray of fruit and other food stuffs. She eyed the wine cautiously and he chuckled at her suspicious nature. She gazed up at him raising a brow.

"It's not poisoned. I didn't ask you to come all this way to poison you," he sipped on his wine and Eve sipped hers as well. It was good, but as she remembered, not as good as the wine in Greece.

She set the glass down and eyed him as he reclined on a few pillows. "So _why_ did you ask me to come here?" she wondered this for days as she traveled here.

Samuel shrugged a shoulder, "I wanted to be with you. I like you, you know. Just because our parents did not get along doesn't mean we can't, right?" he said with a charming smile. Eve grinned sheepishly, not quite sure how to address that subject. She didn't really want to talk about her mother and she didn't really have a plan but she wanted to make small talk with him.

"I'm really sorry about kidnapping you. It was an accident..." she admitted shyly. He dismissed it as if it never happened. "But your soldiers attacked my mother and her palace in Egypt. Why would they do that?"

Samuel sighed, "I told you Eve that they were going to come for me. It wasn't personal. You know I really admire your mother," he said as he bit into an apple. Eve raised an eyebrow at that. Now she was truly suspicious and he saw that in her eyes. "I do, Eve. She's a great warrior and strategist. I'm sure she's taught you well."

Eve nodded and sipped on her wine, "yes she has, but I don't think you brought me here just to talk about my mother..." she sneakily slipped that in, in order to change the subject.

He agreed to that and moved closer to her. "You're right. Let's not talk about her, let's talk about...you" he beamed and that made her uncomfortable. He touched her arm and felt her body tense under his fingers. He realized he was coming on a bit too strong and also eyed Solan, who was watching them like a hawk. Quickly, he got up and ran to the other side of the room to retrieve something that might make her happy.

She frowned and he returned with a large box. He set it down in front of her and opened the lid. Her eyes lit up seeing that. She hadn't seen one of those in a long time.

"I know how much you like playing chess. Do you still play?" he grinned.

Eve shook her head, "no not anymore."

He pushed the chess board closer to her, "do you want to?" he lamely attempted to get her on his good side. She smiled and finally relented. Excitingly, he pulled out all the chess pieces and she helped him. Their hands touched and she pulled hers away, her cheeks reddening. He smirked at that and continued gathering all the pieces out. Solan sighed as he thought this was going to be an awfully long and boring night if they were going to play chess. Eve played coy but she was very good at this game and she would stop at nothing until she won.

Eve arranged her pieces after Samuel did and she eyed him curiously. "Please tell me you didn't bring me here just so you can lose at a game of chess?" she teased.

Samuel laughed, "I would be happy to lose to you! You were always a great player and no, I didn't, but I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable..." he eyed her and saw her smile disappear. "Are you...uncomfortable?"

She sighed, "we were children when we met, Samuel. It's different now. We are different people."

He grinned charmingly at her, "you still look the same to me, maybe a little less stubborn though," he teased.

Eve gasped, "I am not stubborn!" she protested folding her arms.

Samuel nodded, "I guess I'm wrong...you're still stubborn," he winked and moved his first piece. "Your turn."

* * *

Octavius told himself that he would never come here again but here he was. He hadn't seen Xena in fifteen years and when he knew that she left for Egypt, he was glad that she was pitying herself and decided to hide.

The west wing doors were opened and he saw Xena standing there drinking some wine in dressed in a bright red dress with mesh sparkly sleeves. His eyes widened as he saw her. It was like time had stood still and she looked...gorgeous. He half expected and hoped that she'd be an old hag by now and look a mess, but that was far from the truth. The only difference he saw was the white streak in her hair, but everything else was right where it should be –her slim frame, her firm legs and wrinkle-free face.

Xena turned and saw the initial shock in his eyes. He couldn't believe his eyes and she was hoping for that kind of reaction. She made sure the atrium was filled with wine and food for her guest. She didn't want to put on a bad impression and she was dying to engage in conversation with the emperor. "Well don't just stand there and gawk, Octavius. Come in," she lead the way and he followed her, still in awe at her youthful appearance.

Xena had formulated a plan with Gabrielle hours before he arrived and it was going to put even more shock in the emperor. Gabrielle stood on the second floor in the dark, looking over the balustrade watching Xena saunter around showing him the well decorated atrium. She smiled looking down at Xena. She was beautiful, just as she always was, but this was a different kind of beauty. She was very confident of herself and she wasn't afraid to show it –something that she lost many years ago. Xena was back, she leaned on the railing as she listened to Xena from down below.

Octavius was handed a glass of wine and Xena gestured for him to sit down as she walked around. He sat down graciously and looked up at her. She was no hag for sure. He sipped on his wine and Xena turned around sitting across from him with an enticing sneaky smile on her lips. "So what made you want to come back to Athens?" he chided.

Xena sighed over exaggeratingly, "I grew bored of Egypt. I belong in Athens. This is my home," she waved her arm around at the grand atrium they were sitting in alone minus the few maids standing off to the sides.

"And what a...lovely home it is," he scanned her body and she took notice of that. The slit on her dress slipped over her leg as she crossed it over the other. He looked away, admiring all the decorations around the room. "You look like you're going to throw a party," he said awkwardly.

She grinned smugly and sipped on her wine, "Octavius, you're a dear old friend of mine. How would it look if I didn't show some effort in your arrival after all these years?" she winked.

He shook his head mockingly, "you love to joke. That is one thing I miss the most about you."

Her eyes lit up, "oh so you did miss me? How sweet of you..." she adjusted herself in the seat and leaned forward getting right to the meat of the real reason she wanted to talk with him. "I hear you expanded your empire to Assyria." He eyed her and nodded his head. "The Assyrians are my friends," she touched her heart with a pitiful face. "You hurt my friends, Octavius and when you hurt my friends, you hurt me," she played the victim and he caught on quickly.

The emperor scoffed, "you left your people behind you when you fled to Egypt for sanctuary, Xena." She frowned at that but pulled herself together, maintaining her composure. "And you had Solan working with that Allat fellow." He shook his head.

Xena pursed her lips and set down her glass. "Let's not talk about Solan. Tell me, why did you decide to visit me?" she smiled.

He nursed his glass of wine then stared directly in her blue eyes, which was an immediate mistake. "I wanted to see you. I haven't seen you in fifteen years, Xena!" he grinned. "It would have been rude of me to ignore your return.." he raised an eyebrow and sipped his wine.

"Yes of course, what was I thinking. Oh but you know what, Octavius?" she folded her fingers together and he avoided her gaze. "I sense you have a hidden agenda. You never liked seeing me because it meant that something bad was going to happen..." she lowered her eyelids gazing at him with a mischievous smile. "So you know what _I'm_ going to do?"

He lifted his head and smiled tightly, " _no_ , what's that?"

She frowned deeply then stood up, towering over him. He was no longer a young emperor, though not as old as she was, he had much to learn and she was about to give him a lesson. "I'm taking back what should have been mine. I want Assyria, North Africa, Anatolia and maybe I'll take Persia too," she smirked.

Now he stood up eye level to her with a large apparent frown on his face. "You lost those territories years ago, Xena. And you'll never have Anatolia or Assyria again and you can forget about Persia," he laughed, "unless you're going to kill the Persian King, _again_."

She took a step closer to him and now she was inches away from his face. Gabrielle leaned over to see that this conversation had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. She expected him to rebel and so did Xena. She waited patiently to see what Xena had planned next.

Octavius breathed heavily and that only made Xena happier. She fed off his fury and looked into his blue eyes. "I will win, Octavius," she hissed in a hushed voice.

The emperor waved his hand and stepped away from her, finishing off his wine. "In your dreams, Xena."

She scoffed, "had a lot of those lately and let me tell you, they're not filled with unicorns and rainbows," she jested and laughed at her own joke.

Gabrielle up above smacked her forehead with her palm listening to Xena's inappropriate jokes. _Every time..she has to do that every single time._

"You don't even have any followers in those areas. You'll never win, Xena. Not in this lifetime." He stormed off and Xena folded her arms then ran to the entrance blocking his way out.

She breathed out heavily and smiled at him. "Oh you don't just get to leave in a tantrum, Octavius. I prepared this feast just for you and I and you're going to turn it down?" she played with riddles and he rolled his eyes.

"Get out of my way. It was obviously a mistake coming here," he tried to side step her but she continually blocked the way out. He was growing aggravated with this woman now.

Xena finally opened the door and he stormed out, brushing past her. She grinned and leaned on the doorframe watching him storm off. "I hope to see you again, Octavius!" she called out and he ignored her, continuing to walk to his men waiting for him on the side of the palace.

Gabrielle came running down the stairs and grabbed Xena's arm. "Did you just declare war on the Roman Empire?" she smiled, eager to get into the meat of their conversation.

Xena closed the door and grabbed Gabrielle's hand. "I hope so. I need more allies," she felt the adrenaline in her body roaming over her entire body. It felt so good to tell off Octavius, she couldn't even explain it, not even to Gabrielle, though she had a feeling she felt the same way she did. "Gabrielle, you're wonderful," she leaned down and kissed her cheek.

Gabrielle grinned, "I can't believe you did that! You were always such a great talker," she complimented her friend and it was Xena's turn to play coy. "You can get anything you want with just talking."

Xena laughed, "no that's _you_ Gabrielle! This was your idea anyway, I should be thanking you." She sighed and grabbed another glass of wine and handed it to her. "Without you, I don't know what I'd do."

"Go crazy?" she teased.

The empress sipped on her wine and widened her eyes. "Already there," she joked. "But at least I don't have to be crazy and alone," she eyed her friend's green eyes and winked as she sipped on the dark red wine.

Gabrielle came around the table and sat down next to Xena enjoying the nice atmosphere. "So what now?" she anxiously asked.

Xena sighed and let her hair down from the updo and ruffled her hair with her fingers, relaxing on the couch next to Gabrielle. "We enjoy the decorations and good wine, Gabrielle," she smiled. Gabrielle smiled at her and moved closer to her. Xena propped her legs on the table in front of the sofa and felt Gabrielle's body close to hers and she smiled, finally able to relax without any interruptions or bad news, so far. Octavius was quite a surprise and it was fun to throw him around like that. She would _definitely_ be doing more of that.

* * *

After many hours of playing Samuel had got beat by Eve twice in a row. He enjoyed her company enough and did not get flustered by his consistent losing. She yelled in victory just as she did when she was a child, he recalled. He laughed at her excitement and soon she realized that she needed to quiet down. Her cheeks reddened and he smirked at her. "You won again, not a big surprise," he pushed the chess board aside then stood up after downing the last of his wine. He stretched out his hand nudging his head to come along, "come with me."

Eve looked to Solan and saw he was nowhere near her. He was still watching afar in the same spot he was in for hours now. Samuel saw her eyes travel to her brother and he smiled helping her up. "Don't worry, Eve. You trust me, right?" she sighed and gave the nod to Solan.

Solan eyed the two carefully and folded his arms. "I can take care of myself, Solan," Eve called out with a wide smile. She took Samuel's hand and they left the royal chambers. Solan groaned and kicked the wall. Eve was an adult yes, but if something happened to her then he would have to deal with his mother, and he didn't want to do that. That would be a rude awakening for him. Samuel was not Phraates that was for sure, but he was also so very charming and Eve knew that, he hoped. Eve had spent some time with him when they were children and she even felt bad for him when Xena killed his father, but she was a child then. This was different, they were adults now and after hours of playing chess, Eve grew back into the child form of herself again, reconnecting with Samuel as if time stood still.

Samuel covered Eve's eyes as they walked through a long hallway and she tried to pry his hands off and smiled. "What are you doing?" she asked innocently.

"I want you to see something, just turn to the left," he guided the way and she reached forward trying to grab onto any walls nearby but there was nothing there. She allowed him to guide her through the unknown hall and she stumbled on a step and he stopped. "Okay, you're safe to open your eyes now."

Eve shook her head then saw they were on a balcony and very high up she might add. Her eyes widened and she then realized what she was looking at. It was the back of the palace and she saw mountains, they didn't have those in Athens and there was even, "snow?"

Samuel nodded, "sometimes I go up to the mountains in the summer. You should come with me some time, it's very beautiful up there. You can see the entire city!"

Eve smiled then realized what he was suggesting. He wanted to spend more time with her and she liked that idea, she always liked Samuel, but then her mother came to her mind again. Turning to face the king she frowned. "You know I can't stay here..." she said in a hushed tone.

He knew this but he still liked being around her. He never forgot about her when she was in the palace all those years ago. It was definitely fate that they met once again in Qin, though the turn of events was a bit unexpected, he enjoyed seeing her again. "Well, I didn't mean right now. It's not summer yet," he said with a jesting voice. Eve smiled at his charm and overlooked the scenery before her.

The princess then thought of Samuel's plan to attack Athens and she focused on that. "Would you...be allies with my mother?" she asked continuing to admire the dark sky and glistening snow on the mountain tops.

Samuel didn't think of that and he didn't hate Xena. It was her that made him king even with his elder brothers in the way, he rose to the top. He was very qualified and became king at the age of twelve, a few years after his father was killed. He owed Xena, but he felt like he didn't owe her _that_ much. He wanted to expand Persia and the only way to do that was through conquest. "Your mother doesn't really like me or my people, Eve," he smiled trying to lighten the mood.

She nodded, "she didn't like your father. She loves Persians. We have some Persian students studying in Athens," Eve said proudly. Samuel blinked, a bit surprised to hear that.

"A Greek who loves Persians. That is the first I have heard," he chuckled. He grabbed her hand and she eyed him cautiously. "I thought you didn't want to talk about your mother?" he kissed her hand.

She smiled weakly at his kind gesture but remained focused. She wanted him to admit that he was going to attack her mother's empire, but she couldn't be so upfront about it. "I don't, but...my mother and the Persians were friends once, before I was born," she added.

Samuel sighed and leaned on the balustrade looking out into the distance. "Yeah, strange times. I don't know how my father ever agreed to that," he scoffed. "It didn't last long though. She taxed my kingdom to death in order to cover more land for her empire." He was growing irritated just thinking about it and Eve sensed that. He sighed and straightened himself with a smile. "But let's not talk politics Eve. I asked you to come here so I could spend time with you. I really enjoy your company."

She smiled nodding her head, "I do too. It seems every time we meet it is under awful circumstances."

Silence.

Then the two started laughing and he grabbed her hand leading her away from the balcony as their laughter died down. They walked down another long hallway that Eve recalled even from all those years ago, she remembered every hallway because she was trying to escape though this time it was different. She was here at her own free will and he was not trying to kidnap her or keep her as a hostage like Phraates did. She didn't have to come here, but she did.

Eve noticed a large room they passed and she pulled away from him. "Which room is this?" she eagerly said trying to distract the king. He ran after her as she entered the room. He remembered that she went wherever she wanted and didn't care about the consequences.

He leaned on the archway as she walked around the room, touching vases and statues. "This is _my_ room," he casually said. Eve smiled sneakily and turned around feigning surprise. She knew this was his room. It was too grand to be anyone else's.

"Oh, it's very nice. Almost as nice as mine," she teased. She took off the extra fabric hanging around her neck and flung it aside. "It's always so hot in Persia."

Samuel sighed and came closer to her as she took off the mesh fabric around her waist, now exposing her midsection and wearing a cream colored top with tailored short sleeves. She sat down on his bed and brushed her hair aside from her shoulders. He looked away, now he was the one feeling uncomfortable. "You were always so curious. You do whatever you want, don't you?" he rubbed his chin as his eyes remained focused on a wall.

Eve saw that he was feeling rather shy and she smiled. Good, she thought. _I have you unfocused now_. "When I'm with my mother, I can't do whatever I want but she's not here so..." she hoped he would turn around but he didn't. "She can be rather controlling you know." she lied.

"What a surprise," he chided.

"why won't you look at me, Samuel?" Eve laid down on his bed running her fingers through her hair.

He cleared his throat, "because it would be rude of me. I am not my father, you know. He had many wives," he admitted a bit embarrassed. His brothers too, had many wives, but he chose not to have any and if he would, he would only have one wife.

Eve seemed surprised at his restraint. "Wow, you're quite the gentleman. Perhaps my mother will ally with you if you agree of course."

Samuel finally turned around and saw her sprawled on his bed then he looked up at the ceiling. Eve was rather enjoying this as he would not look at her, for some odd reason. "Why do you want me to ally with her? She killed my father. I can't just forget that and yes he was a horrible person and –"

"But you're not like him, Samuel. You're better than him," she stood up and touched his face, now lowering his gaze to stare into his green eyes. "Just think of the good things we could do together if we joined forces," she used a bit of her mother's play on words to win him over.

Looking like he was about to protest she frowned then kissed him forcefully. His eyes widened and then relaxed. Her hands roamed around and took off his vest throwing it to the side. Samuel stopped and pulled away from her embrace leaving her confused. "What are you doing?"

She smiled, "you said you like me right?"

"Well I –"

"I like you too," she smiled as her eyes narrowed and her fingers touched his bare arms. She needed him to become distracted and she felt like she was a snake in the grass at this point. Truthfully, she did like Samuel, but she was using him for her own gain to fix what she had done. She didn't want him to attack Athens. It would be better if they allied and then her mother's empire would expand and she would have more land. Everyone is happy, she told herself.

She grabbed his hand and lead him to his bed. He had a wary look in his eyes which she ignored. She pushed him on the bed with an eager smile and his eyes grew in shock, surprised by her sudden behavior. "Are you always like this?" he asked as she unlaced her top and threw it aside. He was tempted to look away but now he couldn't. She ruffled her wavy dark hair with her fingers and kissed his lips gingerly.

"I _do_ get what I want," she smiled and he finally cracked a smile. _Yes, embrace with me. Give in, Samuel_. She had bewitched him and she had done it well, obviously. Too much reading from Gabrielle's scrolls, she reminded herself.

He caressed her arms and she smiled at him. Surely, she couldn't be the only woman he had seen naked, she wondered. He wasn't like his father for sure with his many wives, but he was still Phraates' son and all the Persian boys liked women. Obviously he had done this before and she had not, but she was willing to learn.

He flipped her over on her back and kissed her gently taking her for surprise. "Are you sure you don't want to stay until summer?" he winked and she shrugged her shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We will have to see about that," she responded and he kissed her neck. Her eyes widened and she tensed up. He felt it beneath his touch but then his eyes glanced up at hers.

"Are you alright?" he smiled and she nodded, then he felt her body relax finally.

_Conquering is a lot easier said than done._


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: super long chapter this time. Good luck and enjoy. A lot of things happening this go around ;)**

_Chapter 13_

Solan paced around for a few hours and he was growing rather impatient waiting for Eve and the king to emerge from wherever they were. He didn't like the idea of her going with him in the first place. He knew this was a bad idea and his mother knew it too yet she allowed her to go see the Persian. He figured that his mother wanted to give Eve some responsibility but honestly he didn't think that Eve would be able to fix what she had done. Samuel was reasonable so far and he had shown no violent signs towards them when they came to his palace.

He was actually very kind to them even though it was obvious he wanted to be alone with the Greek princess. Solan sat down on a bench keeping his eyes peeled on the royal chambers waiting for them to appear but when they didn't, he only assumed the worse.

Deciding to take action he walked over to the guards and tapped on one of their shoulders. "Can someone go find them? I am not going to sit and wait here," he folded his arms impatiently. The guard turned to him with a grimace then snapped his fingers at a servant girl, wearing hardly anything, she came to them bowing her head slightly.

"Go see where the king is and report back to me," the guard demanded and the girl nodded her head then ran off to find the two. She had an idea of where they might be. Solan huffed and waited behind the guards blocking the way into the chambers. He didn't want to cause trouble here especially since he was a guest and he was technically Eve's bodyguard according to their mother. He didn't want to disappoint her and whenever people did that, bad things happened to everyone.

* * *

The servant girl heard muffled sounds and talking behind the king's bedroom doors. She knocked on the door quietly then the talking ceased immediately. She waited patiently and heard some rustling around and even some laughter as well. Frowning she saw the door opened and the Persian King stood with a sheet wrapped around his waist and he was bare from the waist up. She averted her eyes and Samuel smirked, leaning on the door-frame.

"The princess's brother is asking where you two went..." she said with reddened cheeks. Never did she see the king so exposed in her life working in the palace.

Samuel sighed then turned around to see Eve in his bed, covering herself with the black silk sheets. He grinned turning back to the girl. "I forgot about him," he mumbled. "Tell him that he is invited for dinner this evening and we'll be there," he winked and the girl nodded as he closed the door. She went off to tell the other servant girls to prepare an impromptu dinner.

Eve sat up covering her bare chest with the sheets and Samuel folded his arms smirking at her. She grinned and ran her fingers through her wild curly hair. He walked over to the bed and stretched his arms out comfortably. "My brother asked about me?" she feigned innocence.

He nodded, "I wasn't going to tell her that you were with me. He'd probably kill me," he chuckled then crawled onto the bed, laying next to her he kissed her forehead and she grinned. "You seem more...relaxed now, no?" he hoped that she was feeling more comfortable now. He didn't expect her to jump into his bed the moment she got here, he didn't expect anything from her except for her company just for a little while.

Her smile had shown it all even though she had an agenda of her own, she liked Samuel, she felt comfortable around him. He was the only person that didn't judge her or doubt her much like she thought her mother felt sometimes. She knew her mother meant well, but she was just too protective of her and she knew why especially what happened to Solan, she didn't want to lose her, but Eve wasn't going to run off somewhere. Solan was much an heir as she was, but there was extreme pressure on her to be the best warrior and to live up to her mother's name. She didn't want to become a shadow of her mother nor did she want the baggage that came along with it. Her mother's empire was the only empire that was ruled by a woman and Eve had to be the best princess that her mother ever had. With her mother hiding Eve all her life for safety reasons, that was no longer the case.

The Persians knew about her but Octavius didn't even after all these years. He was not in contact with the Persians after Phraates was killed and he thought the Persians brought him nothing but trouble, which was true in a sense. They were reckless sometimes, although great rulers and scholars, but they were not ones to negotiate with other empires. Persia wanted to be the single empire out of them all, but their empire was weak compared to the Roman Empire and even the Greek Empire. The Greek Empire had dwindled down in size making Persia and Rome the superpowers, but Eve wanted Samuel to ally with her mother so they could be a team and cover more ground. She was going to make sure that happened no matter what, even if she had to stay here for awhile longer and her mother wasn't going to approve of that.

Samuel looked at Eve's blank eyes and smiled, caressing her cheek softly. "Eve?" he called out and she blinked, staring at his concerned eyes. "I think I lost you," he jested.

She smiled and pat his hand gently. "No I was just thinking...what if I stayed here a bit longer than a few days?" she laid down beside him, staring into his bright green eyes.

The young king was stunned at what she had just said. He was under the impression that she wanted to leave and didn't want to be here but after those few hours of being with her, he began to think otherwise then another thought entered his mind and he frowned. "What about your mother?"

She shrugged a lazy shoulder and traced her fingertips along his bronzed muscular arm. "She is the Empress of Greece yes but I am the princess, so I can stay here if I wish. She is not the boss of me, you know."

He laughed at that. "I would like you to notify her _if_ you decide to stay longer...I don't want her to come here and chop my head off or any other pertinent body parts." He saw a frown appear on her lips almost as if she thought he was patronizing her. "I mean, you can do whatever you wish like you said, you _are_ the princess," he winked. "Besides, imagine what she would do to me if she found out that you slept in my bed." His eyebrows raised with concern and suddenly her smile reappeared.

She leaned over and kissed his lips gingerly, "she won't find out about that, I promise you." He grinned at her then it fell silent between them. She sighed, "so what's this about a dinner? Trying to keep my brother away?" her eyes narrowed playfully.

Samuel got out of bed and put on his wide-leg pants and tied the sash about his waist. "Something like that. I trust you have something else to wear?" he raised a curious brow. She nodded and covered herself with the sheets. "I'll have one of the girls fetch your clothes from the caravan then." Slipping on his blouse he leaned over and was tempted to kiss her again but instead kissed her hand and left the room in a hurry after slipping on his sandals.

* * *

Solan saw the king emerge from a large hallway and he had a huge grin on his face but Eve was not with him. He tried to push his way through the guards but they held him back. The king waved his hand allowing Solan to enter the chambers finally after many hours of looking from afar. "Where is Eve?" he looked around to see if she'd come trailing behind him but when she didn't, he became worried.

Samuel smiled, "I asked some of the girls to get her clothes from the caravan outside. She wanted to wear something nice for this evening." He sensed anger in the blonde's eyes. "Something wrong?"

"Did you hurt her?" he immediately asked folding his arms defiantly.

The Persian shook his head, "no I would never hurt the princess. She is a very precious gem to me and your mother," he smiled and sauntered off to a separate hall. "Join me, Solan?" he called out and Solan frowned not liking the king's response. He was far too kind to Eve and not in the way that he liked. He feared that Eve had gone along with the man's charms.

* * *

It had been a couple of days since Xena's little talk with Octavius and she didn't really know where he went. She could care less if he decided to go cry back to Rome or stay in Athens. She kept herself busy in the east wing of her palace organizing some wooden weapons for the class she wanted to reestablish. For once in a long time she felt happy to be in Athens again. She missed her palace and the people here. Gabrielle mentioned that she should make a public appearance in order to reassure her people that she was indeed back here and there would be order.

Gabrielle came into the east wing and saw Xena happily putting the wooden weapons onto a rack by herself, completely satisfied with her idea of continuing education in combat arms for the young girls in the palace's school. Xena acknowledged her finally and she smiled at the empress. "Gabrielle, would you like to help?"

She shook her head, "no this is all on you," her smile grew seeing the happiness in Xena's eyes that she had not seen in a very long time. It was strange though, her meeting with Octavius was not uneventful but it would prove worthy in the long run. It felt like they were repeating history all over again, but this time it was different, Xena was different and for the better. She seemed less stressed out and Gabrielle didn't know if it was because they were back in Athens or perhaps it was the elixir, reviving Xena and allowing her to come out of her stupor of depression.

Once she finished organizing the weapons she joined Gabrielle in walking outside alone in the east wing garden. Gabrielle fidgeted with her thumbs behind her back as she walked alongside Xena. "It's really nice seeing you like this, you know."

Xena smirked, "like what?"

Gabrielle shrugged her shoulder casually, "happy, I guess. You weren't like this in Egypt."

The empress frowned, not wanting to remember those years in Cairo any longer. Athens was her home and perhaps she knew that all along and should have listened to her twelve year old daughter when she had the chance, but she didn't. It took some meddling with a few gods to come back to her senses but she was sure there were consequences. The powers of the elixir was basically unknown to mortals and it seemed like the Olympians had little knowledge of it as well. For now, Xena wasn't going to be bothered with that until the time came. She didn't know when that would be or if it would ever come, but she wanted to enjoy her life. She hadn't enjoyed life in quite some time and she couldn't keep dwelling on something that no true answer. She didn't want to live her life always wondering, thinking of the worse or her mistakes.

"Yes, I'm sorry Gabrielle. I was a horrible person to be around. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have never left Athens," Xena concluded and Gabrielle nodded, agreeing with her. Everything she said was true, they both couldn't deny that. "But let's not talk about the past and focus on the future. That's what counts, right?" she smirked bringing in Gabrielle for a warm side hug.

Gabrielle chuckled, "except the past was just a little more than a week ago. Our lives are never dull are they?" she smiled.

Xena sighed, "a week that felt like a year to me. I think I'm done with time traveling for awhile." She stopped and turned to face her blonde companion. "Gabrielle, I don't know any way to thank you for everything you've done for me. You changed me and made me see life through your eyes. I don't think I could ever repay you."

Gabrielle's cheeks reddened as Xena said that to her. She loved Xena a lot and their relationship had been through its ups and downs over the last decade and she hoped that would never change. She enjoyed seeing the different changes in Xena. "You don't owe me anything, Xena. I'll always be here for you and I'll always remind you of that," she winked. Xena liked hearing that even though Gabrielle had said that for many years it always felt like she was saying it for the first time. She always relied on herself to fix things and for a long time she felt alone, but when Gabrielle showed up, she no longer felt alone in anything that she did.

They walked together enjoying the nature surrounding them both and Gabrielle it her bottom lip, almost afraid to bring this up but it had been days since Eve left and she was worried about her even though Solan was with her. "So what do you think Eve and the 'king' are doing in Persia?" she asked casually.

Xena shook her head and rubbed her forehead trying to get the anxiety out of her. She had thought of Eve every day since she left and although Samuel was a charming man, he was still Phraates' son. "I trust Eve's judgment. I'm sure she'll keep the king in check," she had to keep telling herself that or she was going to go crazy thinking about all the horrible possibilities.

"She's a smart girl. You raised her right," Gabrielle smiled and felt Xena's hand intertwine with hers as they walked together. She felt Xena's fingernails slightly graze her hand and she shivered at her touch, almost as if she was holding onto someone...different. Her touch was different, everything was different about Xena these days and she wasn't surprised about it, but still it was as she thought, _different_.

"No, we raised her Gabrielle. I couldn't have done it without you," she stared into her green eyes and they exuberated surprise. "Really," she added.

Gabrielle smirked embarrassingly, "you're being awfully nice," she chuckled. Xena stopped in her tracks and let go of her hand setting it on her hip. The blonde hid her smile with her hand and the empress pursed her lips.

"So I can't be nice now?" she teased.

"I didn't say _that_. Just an observation," she shrugged and continued walking without Xena beside her leaving her dumbfounded.

* * *

_Hall of War_

Eris appeared as Ares was sparing with one of his metal warriors. He cut the armored illusion in half and saw his sister standing there glaring at him. Groaning he kicked the pile of metal down with a swift kick and twirled the sword. "Something you want, dear sister?"

The goddess sighed heavily, "why yes, brother. I want to know where you get your brains from, your mother or your father because...you are so stupid!" she folded her arms and Ares smirked.

"Wow nice to see you too." He threw the blade aside and sat down on his large thrown nonchalantly hanging his leg over the armrest staring at her wishing she would just leave. "Well?"

Eris frowned, "I see you got your godhood back," she teased and he rolled his eyes as a response. "You're not going to back to your warrior queen?" she pouted.

Ares shook his head, "the elixir had no affect on Xena. At least, not the one I was hoping for," he grimaced thinking of his failures and his sister was there to remind him of that.

"Oh but that's where you're wrong, brother. Xena did wake up from her dreamcoma." She saw his eyes light up. "Why else would you get your godhood back? I had to intervene to save your ass from Zeus and Hera." She sauntered over and sat down on a chair admiring his hall, decked out in armor, various weapons and shields upon the walls. "You shouldn't have given a mortal that elixir, you know. Xena used the entire bottle on herself, now she's on this _mission_ to save her empire. Goodie for her," she rolled her eyes in disgust at the woman.

Ares straightened himself up staring at his dark haired sister. "So it did work on her then? I knew she couldn't resist the power," he smirked, really enjoying this news to brighten up his dull day.

Eris stood up, "she used it selflessly in order to save her daughter from...me," she groaned.

The War God rubbed his temples in frustration of his sister. He really didn't understand her fascination with Eve. She was young and powerful yes, but she wasn't Xena. "What is your deal with Eve anyway?"

"I could ask the same for you and Xena," she spat back. "Listen Ares, Eve is Xena's heir and she is already a great warrior. A little birdie told me that she is in Persia right now with that young king," her eyebrows lowered and Ares didn't like the sound of that. Xena would have a cow, he knew she would. She didn't like Persians as they always caused trouble for her. That king obviously was stepping in the wrong zone –the danger zone. "She is more like Xena than you think."

Ares shook his head, "she is not like Xena. She has never tapped into her dark side, but I told Xena I wanted nothing to do with Eve. She is off limits to me and should be to you too!" he yelled and Eris grimaced. She didn't like being told what to do especially by her elder brother.

She stood up ready to leave this place. He was annoying her by now and there was no talking sense into him. "I suggest you research more about that elixir..." she smirked and turned to leave. "Xena is no longer a mortal..." she laughed then disappeared in a flash.

Ares sat on his throne rubbing his chin thinking about what she said. No longer a mortal? So could Xena be a god as well? That didn't seem right...if she used the entire elixir on herself and selflessly, could she be an immortal? No those were usually damned unless you were Hercules and he was already half god. No there was something wrong here. He didn't want to go to his father as he would just disappoint him. He would need to pay a visit to the Fates in order to solve this question at hand, or at least try to. He hated the Fates, he thought they were know-it-alls but he needed some answers and didn't know where else to look.

* * *

Solan and Samuel sat at the table together in silence. Both had wine next to their empty plates waiting for this dinner to start. Solan eyed the king with every move he did whether he drank wine or simply fidgeted his hand, it was noticeable. He took note of that.

Eve entered the room wearing an off the shoulder black and gold gown that Gabrielle had made for her awhile back. She thought it would come in handy. She fixed her hair and wore dark eyeliner around her eyes. Samuel's eyes widened at her appearance and stood up immediately as did Solan the moment she came closer to the table. She smiled at her brother and he smiled back at her weakly.

"I hope I didn't keep you both..." she said shyly and Samuel smiled shaking his head.

"No, not at all. Come sit," he gestured to the chair at the end of the table. Solan and Samuel sat at either side of her which probably made her feel like she was being watched by two men at once and that was unnerving. She didn't want to tell Solan about her thoughts of staying here longer, but she needed to.

Once the food was brought to the table Eve quietly sipped on her wine, casually eyeing Samuel and he would smile at her slightly, trying his best not to show any affection towards her because Solan was watching like a hawk, much like Xena would if she were here.

Eve set down her glass in the middle of eating her food, which she barely touched. "Solan," she said quietly and he turned to her with a curious face. "I have decided to stay here awhile longer. I want you to relay the message to mother as soon as possible."

Solan set down his spoon and frowned at her then at Samuel. "Why do you want to stay here? Mother will not be happy about this I hope you know," he looked to the king and mockingly smiled, "no offense."

She sighed, "I just think it would be best if I did because we have poor relations with the Persians right now." She saw Samuel's eyes avert elsewhere and she felt awkward continuing. She wanted him to be on her side but she also wanted Solan to comply with her demands. "If I stay here then maybe mother will understand... _my_ way of fixing things," she smiled lamely and Solan did not like this idea.

"You're the boss," Solan did not wish to continue this conversation and went back to eating. Eve expected more backlash from her brother but when she didn't receive it she remained skeptical. He was quiet and passive much like their mother was when she was very angry or disapproved of something. Sure when she was angry she'd yell and let you know her thoughts and opinions, but when she was more than angry..she was very quiet. He and her were more alike than they'd both like to admit.

Samuel smiled and lifted his wine glass, "so, it looks like you will stay here awhile longer then!" he looked over at Eve who seemed less excited than he was and her brother was silent throughout this entire awkward situation.

After dinner Solan wanted to get word to his mother about Eve's decision but first he wanted to talk to his sister before sending anything and to make sure this is exactly what she wanted to do. The king had his eyes on Eve the entire evening and Solan took note of that as well. He wasn't going to tell his mother that or else she would probably panic or worse, come over here and do something regrettable.

Eve stepped off to the side and Solan grabbed her arm pulling her away. Samuel was preoccupied with his assistant, Balal, at the moment anyway. She frowned and snatched her arm away. "What is the matter with you?" he whispered.

She sighed, "Solan, this is something I need to do! If I stay here for awhile longer...I can maybe convince Samuel to ally with our empire."

Solan folded his arms and peered back at the king discussing something obviously important as he couldn't hear anything they were saying. He turned his attention back to his younger sister with a face of disapproval. "He wants to attack Athens...you can't trust him Eve." He stood shaking his head at the entirety of the situation.

Eve knew her brother meant well and he was very concerned for her it was apparent, even to Samuel. She placed her hands on his shoulders with a small amount of pressure. "I know I can convince him. It would be great if the Persians and Greeks allied again in almost twenty years!" she smiled, "just think of the great advantages we would have!"

He groaned, still not liking that she wanted to stay here but he would too, just in case something terrible happened. "I wouldn't mind if we allied with them, but it's just mother...how will you get her to agree?"

She smirked, "about that..." her eyes lit up and Solan shook his head knowing exactly what she was suggesting. " _You're_ going to convince her and I'll do the rest."

"She will want to see proof that Samuel will not attack Athens."

Eve looked back at the king and he glanced over at her with a sly smile. "She will have proof. I'll make sure of it," she smiled back at Samuel then looked at Solan once more. "Send the message to mother," she left his side to go speak with Samuel now and leave Solan to do what she asked him to do. Hopefully, her mother wouldn't be too upset at her.

* * *

Xena was in her office and it had been a long time since she had been in here. Everything was so desolate in the room. All her documents were on a book shelf and most were still in Egypt. She would probably have to send someone over to Cairo to retrieve the missing documents but for now, she wanted to organize a few things while she had some free time.

She walked over to a shelf filled with various maps over the span of thirty years. She pulled all of them out and set them on her desk. When she turned around she saw Gabrielle in the doorway waving a scroll in her hand. She stopped what she was doing and waltzed over to her. "Are you suggesting that I read that?"

Gabrielle shook her head, "no I'll read it. It's from Persia..." she added quietly then saw Xena's eyes light up. She hadn't heard from Eve in over a week and was dying to find out what news she had. Gabrielle unrolled the scroll and read over it quickly then her face changed from shock to confusion in a matter of seconds. Xena waited patiently and couldn't bear to look at Gabrielle's ever-changing facial expressions.

"Well come on Gabrielle, don't keep me in suspense," she grinned, hopeful that it was good news and nothing awful. She had a feeling it might be a mix of both as she noted her expressions.

Gabrielle rolled the scroll back up, "well Eve said...according to Solan, that she wants to stay in Persia for awhile longer..." she eyed Xena and saw sadness in her eyes. "To convince Samuel to ally with... _us_ ," she frowned, confused at Eve's logic, though it wasn't the worst idea. Samuel liked Eve and he didn't really like Xena, she knew that, but still, it was a strange decision.

Xena shook her head, "ally with the Persians? I have not been allies with them for over twenty years! Has she lost her mind?" she rubbed her temples trying to relieve her stress. She began to pace around in a circle.

"It's not the worst idea," she saw Xena halt and stare at her incredulously. "If we allied with them, we could cover more ground and that will intimidate Octavius since he has never been able to conquer Persia.."

Xena didn't like the idea of her daughter staying there to pursue this little side mission of hers. Initially it was not the plan at all. She only went because Samuel wanted her to for whatever reason but Eve must have seen an opportunity while she was there in her short amount of time. "Even if she does get him to agree...I will need to meet with him. I really hate politics."

Gabrielle grinned, enjoying Xena's dilemma. "I will be there to handle everything, as usual."

"How long will she be staying there?" Xena got right back to the point of this mission of Eve's.

She looked for a time period that Eve would be staying there for but there wasn't anything. "It doesn't say, but I'm sure it won't take too long." She saw Xena slowly nodding her head as if she was going over everything that was happening. She wasn't sure if she was able to process all of this at one time. She had just gotten back to Athens and already there was too much to do. "Also...you have a visitor waiting for you in the west wing," she smirked.

Xena looked to her and smiled knowing exactly who this unexpected guest was. She tread down the long hallway to the west wing passing many children walking through the halls. She smiled at them all then the guards at the end of the hall opened the giant doors and she saw exactly who she wanted to see.

"Octavius, I see you've come back for more of my jokes," Xena grinned mischievously and the doors closed behind them after Gabrielle entered after her.

The Roman Emperor was tempted to roll his eyes. No he certainly didn't want to come back here but he felt that he left without further explaining himself and it was rude of him to leave even though he really didn't like Xena at all.

"I thought I should show my respect to you," he smirked, "I am surprised that your empire is still alive even after all the territories I took from you," he took a jab at her and saw that her expression didn't change. She wasn't angry or if she was...he couldn't tell.

Xena waltzed around a large marble column and grabbed a bottle of wine offering him a glass which he kindly took from her. She poured a glass for herself, making sure he wasn't going to run out like last time. "Well, you can't win all the time. You win some and you lose some, it's all a giant game," she smiled and folded her arms staring at the Roman's shocked face.

"You really think you can win all those territories back, Xena? You're..."

"Old?" she smiled finishing his thought. He remained quiet and wouldn't dare say that, even though she was a lot older than he was, she could be his mother. Solan was just a mere ten years younger than he was and yet he was an emperor and Solan wasn't. "You seem surprised that I want to keep my empire alive. You were hoping that I'd give up, right?" she tapped her glass with her fingernails keeping him on edge.

He shook his head, "on the contrary Xena, I enjoy our little tiffs despite your awful personality and self confidence...that never seems to die," he chuckled and Xena mocked him, laughing along with him. She cleared her throat and took a step closer to him.

"I won't be going anywhere, you understand me?" she smiled tightly. "Prepare yourself, Octavius, because I'm coming for you."

He scoffed, "you're declaring war with me?" he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"If that's what you want to call it," she casually shrugged a shoulder.

He began laughing, "you won't win, Xena. You lost last time because you were incompetent in your duty as empress."

Xena smiled tightly, growing irritated with the man. "I'll make sure I won't lose... _this_ time."

He sighed and set the glass of wine on a table and put his hands behind his back. "It's your funeral," he turned to leave and Xena smiled watching him leave. He was so sure of himself, she thought. He wants to win, but he forgets that his empire will not last forever and neither will he. There will be a new emperor, there were always new people that came into power if one person was killed or simply died of illness. He was spreading his empire too thinly, he couldn't be in many places at once and she began to think of Eve's little plan of allying with the Persians. It wasn't such a bad idea especially since Octavius thinks he is indestructible and unbeatable. Xena would make sure that wouldn't happen.

"Gabrielle," she called out and the blonde came running to her side with an equal sense of gratification about her. "Tell Eve to go ahead with her plan."

Gabrielle smiled, "really? You want to ally with the Persians again?"

Xena nodded, "yes but this time it will be different. We will work together against the Romans like we once did twenty years ago. I'm going to wipe the floor with Octavius' body," she downed the rest of the wine and slammed the glass on the table. Gabrielle smiled wider as she saw the determination in Xena's eyes. She was glad that she had so much energy and will power to go against a vast empire again. She fought hard to keep her empire afloat and this time, she would win and they would have more land. Two empires against one was better than one against the largest empire in the world.

* * *

_One Month Later_

Eve walked through the dark halls of the palace since she was so familiar with it by now. All the servants knew her and tended to her whenever she needed them. She was glad that her mother decided to go ahead with the plan she had in mind. The longer she stayed here the more she began to grow accustom to living here with Samuel and the rest of the Persians. Solan was given the go ahead from Xena to come back to Athens after two weeks of staying in Persia. Xena felt that Eve had everything under control and he was no longer needed there as her bodyguard. There had been no signs of assassination while he was there and he even liked staying in Persia. He was able to roam around the city with a few Persian royal guards during the daytime. Samuel was nothing like Phraates, but Solan remained skeptical of his actions.

During his two weeks there he noticed that Eve had grown very close to the king and they spent a lot of their time together, not alone. He hoped that this was all part of Eve's plan and that she wasn't becoming sidetracked from her mission that she set out to do.

Samuel was sparing with a young man outside in the dry garden. They were surrounded by large palm trees and a fountain in the center square where he sparred. He liked being out here during midday as it allowed him to focus on his training and to be away from politics for awhile.

He kicked his partner down and saw Eve standing there wearing a floor length skirt and a black top with a scarf draped over her slim frame. He smiled at her and when she smiled back at him he threw down his sword and came running towards her, dripping in sweat. He rubbed his forehead with a towel and she folded her arms holding a scroll in her hands.

"What's this?" he grinned and took the parchment from her, reading over it. it was in Greek and luckily for him, his father paid many scholars to teach his children at least five languages. Greek was his least favorite but it was inevitable that it come across to him. He squinted his eyes in the bright sunlight then stared back at the princess. "Your mother's empire is going to war with the Roman Empire?" he said in surprise.

She nodded, "that's what she says. Octavius must have really ticked my mother off for her to do that," she grinned.

Samuel exhaled slowly and rolled up the scroll tucking it in his belt. "Well that only means that he will try to come to me for help." He grabbed her hand and head back into the palace to the baths to clean himself up.

She walked with him down the hall to the baths then stopped halfway there and he paused, staring at her confusedly. "This would be a great opportunity to meet with my mother so we can bring both empires together."

He had heard Eve speak of this for a month now and he wasn't annoyed with her or the idea. It would be a great idea but he wasn't sure about it still. He felt like he would be betraying his father and his people if he allied with the Greeks. Although his father allied with Xena before and their empire prospered not just in wealth but in agriculture as well. It was a good system for awhile until Marc Antony showed up and convinced Phraates to join with the Roman Empire. Samuel didn't like the Romans and his empire was smaller than Xena's but large enough to withstand on its own. With this news about the war between the two empires he knew that Octavius would weasel his way into his kingdom asking for more allies. He didn't want that either. He didn't want to suffer the same fate as his father did.

When Xena fought against Phraates and Octavius twenty some odd years ago, she won and destroyed the Roman Empire's reputation as well as the Persian's. She was able to cover vast amounts of land and her people also loved her which was always a plus.

"If I do ally with your mother...will she promise not to kill me?" he smirked.

Eve chuckled under her breath. "She won't kill you unless you do something stupid. She's not insane."

He nodded, "Eve, your mother _is_ insane, but in a good way. Don't take it the wrong way," he winked and stripped of his clothes when he reached the baths and stepped into the hot water. He swam to the edge of the baths and stared at her gorgeous face. He really liked her eyes and pale complexion –something that was sought after here in Persia. "You should come join me," he extended his hand.

She shook her head, "I don't feel well right now, maybe later?"

He frowned, "what's the matter?" he immediately felt concerned. She didn't want to worry him so she decided to say nothing to him but she knew if she did, he would ask her a lot of questions. He always wanted to be very close to her which was good for her plan, but she also needed to be alone for awhile, which she had been when he was in his office or meeting with the scholars in a private room. Women were not allowed, not even her, which gave her time to be by herself.

She smiled softly, "it's just so hot here. I'm not used to the heat," she folded her arms hoping that get him off her back.

He remained skeptical of her answer. "You will let me know if you aren't feeling better soon, won't you?" she nodded at him and he seemed satisfied with her response and he grinned, settling into the warm water, submerging his body.

"I think I'm going to read for a little bit," she smiled then left the room eager to step away. It was only midday and it felt like the Sahara outside. She wiped her brow and continued onward to find a comfortable spot to sit in where the sun wouldn't hit her directly.

* * *

Coming into Samuel's bedroom she pulled out a few scrolls that she took with her from Gabrielle's library. She never left home without at least two of them. She liked to read Gabrielle's scrolls as she was so poetic with words and also gave her more insight to her mother's life before she came into the picture and during as well. Gabrielle was a very talented writer because she was so descriptive of everything that went on during their lives. Eve always liked writing with Gabrielle as much as she enjoyed her mother's strategic and combat classes, she really preferred writing and reading a lot more.

After she found a nice spot to read on the floor near a large window she sat against the wall quietly reading to herself for over an hour. She ignored all of the chatting and rustling around in the palace from the servants rushing by her. She had a large glass of water next to her and the girls even tried to give her food but she refused.

Samuel saw Eve reading by herself and he smiled sitting beside her. She grinned and set the scroll aside. "What are you reading?"

"Something that my aunt wrote a few years ago. It's really interesting," she mused and he nodded, pretending to be interested but she knew he wasn't so fascinated with her readings as much as she was and he read a lot as well. He enjoyed learning about other cultures since his father virtually gave him no choice as a child.

He scooted closer to her and leaned against the wall. "So are you feeling better?" he eyed her, touching her leg gently. She shrugged her shoulder not really wanting to talk about this right now. "You should eat something," he waved his hand to a servant girl standing by and told her to bring some fruit over.

Eve smiled weakly, "no really I'm fine. I don't want to eat anything right now," she admitted quietly.

A tray of fruit was brought to them and he smiled thanking the young servant girl. He took a bite of the pear and pushed the tray towards Eve and she cringed, pushing it away. "It will make you feel better."

"No it won't," he kept insisting that she'd eat a piece of fruit and it was getting on her nerves. She frowned and stood up, "stop it! I don't want to eat the stupid fruit!" she breathed heavily and Samuel blinked, a bit shocked at her sudden outburst. She sighed closing her eyes regaining her composure. "I'm sorry, it's just...I'm not very hungry right now that's all."

He set the piece of pear down and stood up then held her hands in his own. "If something is wrong you can tell me, you know?"

She felt herself becoming a little overwhelmed and she closed her eyes trying not to stare at him. She averted her gaze elsewhere, "I'm fine. Just tired that's all," she smiled.

He frowned not liking her passiveness towards him. "Are you sure?" she nodded although that didn't make him feel at ease. She had a weird expression on her face but he decided not to pry anymore. She was very stubborn and obviously wanted to do things her own way all the time, she was very independent. He remembered this when they were children and she was more like the boss and he was following her orders, but now, he didn't feel like he was above her in any way. He was concerned for her and she hid her feelings from him.

She began to feel really uneasy and her stomach started turning the longer she stood there. Her mouth gaped and Samuel frowned speaking to her but she couldn't hear anything, blocking everything out. She pushed him aside and ran down the hall to his bedroom. He blinked and set his hands on hips bemused at her behavior.

* * *

She ran to the latrine in his room and dry heaved for a good while, but nothing seemed to come up no matter how long she forced herself. She coughed and breathed heavily then leaned against the wall, running her fingers through her dark hair. She felt like such a child right about now but she really wished her mother was here with her. She could be tough when she wanted to and constantly switched back and forth from being mother to empress if her mood changed or if she demanded she'd do something as a princess. Though, Eve knew her mother meant well and she was quite loving towards her when she was not in empress mode even if she was a tad over protective at times. She had been away from home for a little bit more than a month now and it felt like only two weeks had passed. It would have been so much easier if Athens was just a day's ride away but that just wasn't the case. She couldn't go back yet, she needed to stay here until she convinced Samuel to ally with her mother and she wasn't going to let a small illness impede her goals.

Samuel knocked on the wall and saw her sitting on the floor, very pale and looking depleted. He walked over to her and knelt down, touching her cheek. "I believe you're sicker than you're leading on," he half smiled and she sighed heavily. "Should I notify your mother?" he whispered.

Eve's eyes widened. She thought he was reading her mind but then she realized she wasn't a child. She didn't need her mother by her side for every little moment in her life. "No, no...that will only worry her," she winced trying to get up off the floor. He lend his hands out and gradually helped her off the floor.

He walked her over to the bed and she laid down, staring up at the ceiling. He laid beside her and her insides started churning. She tried not to think about it and his staring was not helping. "I don't want her to kill me if you're really ill and I don't tell her," he jested and she cracked a smile. She placed her hand over her stomach and he placed his hand on hers. "I should get some yogurt for you. It will probably ease your stomach."

She sat up as he was leaving the room. "No Samuel I don't want anything, really."

He waved his hand dismissively at her, "I'll be back in a few minutes," he left the room and she groaned, leaning back on the pillows again.

Samuel did return in a few minutes just as he said and he had a large glass of kefir waiting for her. She eyed the yogurt drink and cringed just thinking about it touching her tongue. He smiled and pulled up a chair sitting next to her. She sat up and crossed her legs. "My mother used to swear by this drink. She would give it to me and my brothers whenever we had stomach aches."

She nodded and sniffed the drink and there was no distinct smell, which was probably a good thing. She took a small sip of it and licked her lips, unsure how she felt about it. He eyed her and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She smiled looking at his hopeful face.

"Are you sure you don't want to contact your mother?" he pressured her more and she drank a more reasonable amount of the yogurt and frowned at him.

She set her hand on his knee, "I'm sure. She's probably very busy right now anyway," she smiled reassuring him. He nodded and leaned back in the chair watching her. She looked over at him and felt a bit uncomfortable as his eyes were glued to her. "Do you mind?" she frowned.

He put his hands up, "alright I'll leave," he teased. "I have to go meet with someone anyway. I'll come back later this evening." He closed the door behind him leaving her alone in the room. Once he rounded the corner he saw Balal talking to the vizier and he frowned, not liking the sight of this man. He was so annoying and constantly was in his business.

The grand vizier, Jazzar, had been away on the other side of the empire on a small vacation. He bowed his head at the king and Samuel simply remained blank faced. "Your highness, it's so nice to see you again. It's been awhile."

"Yes it has..." Samuel said and gestured for him to come into the meeting room down the hall but the vizier chose to stay put which Samuel thought was odd.

"Balal has informed me that you have a Greek Princess in your palace," Jazzar grinned lifting his brows. Samuel remained quiet and neither affirmed his statement nor denied it. He didn't want to bring attention to Eve's presence. "I didn't know you had befriended the Greeks."

Samuel straightened his stance, glaring at the vizier. "Not yet. I have yet to meet with the Empress about allying with her."

Jazzar's smile disappeared. "Allying? You wish to ally with that witch? Your father would be so disappointed in you, Samuel," he chose his informal name and that immediately enraged the young king.

"My father used to be friends with her. Perhaps you should watch yourself, vizier or I shall replace you..." he grinned and the vizier's eyes widened and decided to keep his mouth shut from now on.

"You do know that the Greeks are now at war with the Romans, your majesty?" he added and curtly bowed his head. Samuel nodded, knowing exactly what Xena and Octavius were doing. They were competing for land and power. Now that he had Eve here it seemed odd not to be friends with Xena to rise against the Romans. He knew that Octavius would come for his kingdom.

"I should go to Athens to visit the Empress within the next week. Prepare everything, Balal," Samuel grinned as he saw the initial shock and disapproval of the vizier, but the man was in no position to argue against him for sure. He sauntered off going to talk with Balal alone until he would return to check on Eve later.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: it's been quite a long time since I've updated this and I'm sorry for that. I had to do a lot of stuff this summer and was not able to have access to a computer. Sorry if this a bit drawn out but it's all I got for now lol. Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 14_

_The Capitol –Athens_

Xena decided to go into the city to look around and inspect the rest of her empire. She had not been outside of the palace for quite some time and after being trapped in that awful dreamscape she needed some fresh air. The palace sometimes felt more like a prison than a home especially when war was brewing. Whenever there was a war approaching everything was put on a hold in the palace so she could focus on battle plans and new strategies. Her strategies for war were never the same and that's what made her unbeatable until that one time she lost. Xena knew that she lost because she was being lazy and unfocused. Her mind was in several places and she remained distracted throughout the entire war with the Romans. She would make sure that wouldn't happen again. Gabrielle mentioned that she would handle everything in the background, which she did, but Xena didn't ask her to do this, she wanted to do it.

While she roamed the city many of the people smiled at her, happy to see her back in the public eye. It had been a long time since she had shown her face to her people. She had been absent far too long and that lead to an immense amount of guilt in her heart. She used to not care about these commoners at all until Gabrielle came along. Xena realized that she would probably be dead because of her carelessness if Gabrielle hadn't shown up in the strange way that she did. She never expected a small blonde village girl to befriend her even after what she did all those years ago. And here they were yet again, their third war together and still with the same people –the Romans. Xena was growing bored fighting Romans, she thought that they should just be exterminated. If they were gotten rid of then she would have nobody to fight with which made being an empress very boring and tiresome. Although, she enjoyed having the freedom to wander around her city without any interruptions as she was alone. Gabrielle was back at the palace writing up a storm to scholars in Persia, Allat in Assyria and some colleagues in Egypt.

A month went by and Xena had not heard from Eve and her whereabouts. She told herself not to worry as that only lead to awful thoughts and horrid memories of her own past. She only hoped that Eve was not making a mistake staying with Samuel. It wasn't that she didn't trust Eve but as she grew older she noticed the fire slowly building up inside her daughter. Eve was far too much like Xena at that age; unpredictable and spontaneous. These were good traits some of the time and could be used wisely. In her heart she knew Eve was a smart young woman and she had grown so much in a short amount of time, but there was one problem, one little thing that separated her from Xena. Eve was somewhat a spoiled brat at times and often times threw tantrums when she did not get her way. Xena was never like this when she was growing up and she blamed that on the lifestyle that she gave Eve.

Her daughter had everything and anything that she could ever want, which was a good thing, but Xena never had the things that Eve had. She lived a life of luxury and never suffered at all or went through the amount of pain that Xena did, but she didn't want her to go through that. In fact, Xena promised herself that she would never allow Eve to see the awful things that she did when she was that age. The empress recollected the young years of her life and at Eve's age she had already a child, many warrants out for her and she was on several kill lists. Not to mention that she was a warlord and a ruthless murderer at that age.

Looking back at those times Xena could not even recognize herself being like that anymore. She didn't want Eve ever to know that old Xena. She never saw that Xena but Solan did for awhile when he was a teenager. Eve had only known one Xena, the good one. Throughout Eve's life she knew that she had done some questionable things and could be a bit overprotective of her but she didn't want her to turn out like she did. Xena knew that she wouldn't as long as she kept an eye on her, but she was her own person. She couldn't control Eve especially since she was a woman now, not the little stubborn girl she once was –still stubborn though. She was capable of making her own decisions.

Eve took it upon herself to stay with the Persian King for awhile longer to devise a plan to make him ally with the Greek Empire. Xena knew that was only half of the reason Eve wanted to stay. She knew that the two liked one another when they were children so long ago. It was obvious even back then. They had good chemistry together and got along very well with each other. Now that they were adults, it was different because now they had adult feelings, more uncontrollable emotions and desires.

A subtle smirk crossed Xena's lips as she thought of her daughter's sneaky ways. She knew all too well why Eve wished to stay, though she would keep these thoughts to herself when she saw Eve again. She didn't want to cause a rift between them because of a man. Still, she wanted to hear back from Eve to see how things were fairing in Persia, but she decided to be patient and patience was a virtue that she had not gained yet even after all these years.

She tread down the narrow alleyway back to her black stallion waiting for her. Smiling, she hopped onto the horse and swiftly left the city to go back to the palace. A few hours of solace was all she needed to regroup her thoughts. She will need to be focused for Octavius and his devious plans. She was ready for him and she had the feeling that he was underestimating her because of her absence in the battlefield. Xena was going to make sure that she would defeat the Roman Emperor and take over once and for all. It wasn't just about winning anymore, but about ending the awful aristocratic nature of the Roman Empire. The Greeks were more free thinkers and although Xena was not by nature a true Greek, she was a mere cousin of them and ruled their people. She felt the need to preserve the Greek culture and not have the Roman culture come swooping in. divide and conquer, as the great Caesar once said. Xena grinned thinking of that Roman. It was a shame she didn't kill him first, but his own beloved friends and senators did that for her. He dug his own grave with his arrogance to be a great king of Rome, king of the world.

She didn't desire to rule the world. She desired peace, something Gabrielle taught her. She hoped that she could live up to that goal.

* * *

Gabrielle sat outside in the atrium focusing on inner peace and tranquility. She had her legs crossed in front of her with her eyes closed. She exhaled slowly and tried to make her mind very still. Her mind had been so chaotic lately especially with stupid Octavius in the way and Xena's constant demands of this document and that. She wanted to be left alone for awhile and was actually thankful that Xena decided to take some time and go to the inner city for awhile.

Finally, some peace and quiet, she thought.

Xena's heels clicked on the marble floor as she came closer to the atrium and saw Gabrielle sitting...on the dirt? Her footsteps ceased and she folded her arms, amused at Gabrielle's stillness. She quietly padded outside and rounded the blonde, coming to stand in front of her, blocking the bright sunlight.

Gabrielles eyebrows creased as she felt a shadow blocking the warm sun. she opened one eye and looked up to see Xena with a large smirk planted on her face. She groaned and now her concentration was broken. "I was in the middle of something," she tersely grumbled.

Xena's eyebrows lifted in shock. She was tempted to laugh but remained calm, setting her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?" she mocked.

"Meditating. But now you have ruined that," she sighed and stood up brushing the dirt off her pants. Xena blinked once she saw what Gabrielle was wearing. She had never seen her wear something such as this. The pants were airy and brightly colored with a subtle pattern of orange diamonds. She was also not wearing...shoes?

"Since when do you meditate? Are you a monk now?" Xena teased, not knowing that Gabrielle had taken some serious thought into this. The blonde snapped her head around and frowned at her. Xena's smile disappeared and suddenly she felt like she let out a side of Gabrielle she rarely saw. "It's just a joke." She lamely added. Too late for fixing, she told herself.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and grabbed her wineskin to retreat to the palace. Xena followed her quietly and she felt like Xena wanted to keep asking questions but wasn't really in the mood to answer any of them. She went to get her bag of scrolls and dug through it, pulling out a large scroll. "This is for you, it's from Persia."

That made Xena's eyes light up and her smile reappeared. "What did it say?" she took the scroll then saw Gabrielle walk off without answering. "Gabrielle?"

"I didn't read it," she called out. "I'm going to take a bath, maybe I can meditate in the bath in peace," she tartly added as she rounded the corner, disappearing for good. Xena cocked her head and shook her head, confused at Gabrielle's sudden spoiled behavior. She wondered what bit her in the night for her to act so sour towards her.

No matter, she thought. Happy that she got word from Eve she hastily went to her room to change and read what the scroll said.

Once changed into something more comfortable she sat on her bed alone with the scroll. She opened the seal and began reading it as quickly as her eyes and brain allowed her. A strange feeling came over her when she read that Eve was coming here to Athens with Samuel. She didn't call him king, she called him Samuel. This letter was so informal, which was fine, but usually Xena got a letter from the king or emperor. This entire meeting was informal and that struck her as very odd. Though, she was excited that Eve had decided to come back to Athens and maybe even bring a possible ally too.

She set the scroll aside and stared blankly at the wall almost hoping that it would talk back to her. The door opened and Gabrielle waltzed in looking happier and more relaxed than she was earlier. She saw Xena's blank stare and became concerned. Must have been the letter from Eve, she guessed.

"So what did the letter say?" Gabrielle inquired. She sat next to her then picked up the scroll skimming over it as Xena remained quiet. Once she read it, she didn't see anything wrong with it. she thought Xena would be happy to hear that Eve was coming back to Athens but her reaction was...empty.

"Aren't you excited?" she asked yet another question and got silence as her answer. Sighing deeply she grabbed Xena's hand finally getting her out of the daze she was in.

Xena smiled weakly at her blonde friend, "I was lost in my own thoughts once again."

Gabrielle hadn't the slightest idea what Xena meant by 'again'. The two hadn't seen each other all morning. She began to wonder what Xena exactly did when she took that small trip to the inner city. It wasn't like her to sit and think or even delve into her inner thoughts. Xena was quite reserved when it came to rehashing the past and she hid it very well. She wasn't a talker unless it was to get something that she wanted, like Rome for example. No, Gabrielle saw Xena was lost deep in her own mind. Xena once told her that her mind was her own enemy and it definitely was. Xena was her own worst enemy when it came to her psyche.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she grinned, hopeful that Xena would comply. She scooted closer to her, feeling the warmth of her skin touch hers. She felt Xena relax though inside she was tense, she knew it just by looking at her mannerisms.

Xena shook her head, "I feel there is something wrong, Gabrielle," she said quietly.

The blonde nodded, unsure how there could be anything wrong at the moment. Everything was going very smoothly and Eve was coming back home. What could go wrong? There was always something wrong apparently in Xena's mind. "What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking a lot about Eve since she left," she began and waited for a response but instead Gabrielle listened quietly. "She reminds me a lot of myself in many ways. She thinks she knows what she's doing, but the truth is...she doesn't," she smirked. "At her age I thought I knew everything about the world. I thought I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. In my mind I was invincible." She sighed heavily and folded her arms. "But I wasn't invincible. I knew nothing about how the world worked at the time. In my youth I believed that the universe revolved around me and everything had to be done my way on my time. I fear that Eve thinks this way. She said she wanted to fix what she had wronged, but I feel..." she placed a hand over her heart, "she is doing more harm than good."

A few moments of silence passed and Gabrielle now understood what had been bothering Xena, but if she was so distressed, she could have said something about it. she said there would be no more secrets, yet Xena still kept some, of course. She wasn't offended by this, Xena was just this way and probably would never change no matter how old she was.

"You feel like convincing Samuel to ally with us was a bad thing to do on Eve's part? She only wants to help, you know how she is," she soothed her friend. Xena remained still and calm on the outside, remaining glued to the wall ahead. "Eve is her own person you know. She has a lot of your traits yes, but she's not really...like you," she said awkwardly.

Xena eyed her curiously. "You didn't know me when I was her age, Gabrielle. I was wild and untamable. Borias knew that which was why we always fought and disagreed on everything," she snickered remembering her old ways.

"And you feel like she is following in your footsteps?" Gabrielle questioned, still uncertain what Xena was getting at here. She was going back and forth, not really making a whole lot of sense.

The empress shook her head, "Eve is her own person, like you said. She and I are nothing alike in that aspect. I told myself that she would never have the life that I did and I've made sure of that so far."

Gabrielle now understood everything. "So you're just worried about her?" she glanced over into Xena's ice blue eyes and saw an understanding. She smiled, "she'll be fine. You have nothing to worry about. If that Persian King has done anything to her I'll make sure to get him before you do." She pulled out of her Sais and tapped it on one of her palms.

Xena grinned, "I can always count on you Gabrielle," she teased. Standing up she pulled Gabrielle up off the bed. "She didn't say when she was coming and this letter probably took a few days to get here so I assume...they will arrive soon, very soon," her eyes narrowed. Gabrielle didn't like that look in her eyes one bit. A sly smile appeared. "We should prepare for them..."

Gabrielle followed Xena out of the bedroom hastily down the stairs. She had something up her sleeve for sure. Xena had a plan and it was mischievous.

* * *

Eve rode in the caravan with Samuel through the mountains of Assyria, taking the back roads towards Anatolia to grab a ship to sail to Athens. He advised that this was the fastest route not to mention he really enjoyed the scenery. It was much better than traveling through the flat plains of Persia and Assyria.

She stared out the window, peeking behind the curtains, fidgeting with her fingers in her lap. She didn't know why but she felt nervous going back to Athens to see her mother and Gabrielle. She felt as if they would be disappointed in her. Somehow, she convinced Samuel to ally with Greece, which was good. Her plan had worked, but her mother was tough to impress. Samuel was a good king, but he was still a Persian and it was more than just that.

The young king looked up from the map he was reading and saw Eve's nerves getting the best of her. He grinned and folded the map up. "Hey, you need to relax," he said jarring her. She breathed out sharply and looked across from her into his green almond eyes. "You are nervous to see your mother, right?" she nodded as a response. "You're not the only one. One trick my brother taught me was to bite the inside of my cheek whenever I became nervous. It works every time."

Eve scoffed with a smirk. "Your brother is strange," she sighed. "It's not that I am nervous to see my mother again. It's just...that you're here...with me," she pointed at herself.

Samuel nodded, now understanding everything. "I apologize if I am making the situation more uncomfortable." He said so sincerely and Eve smiled sweetly.

"It's not you, it's just me that's over thinking this meeting. I just hope everything goes well," she hoped. Samuel grinned and pat her knee gently, reassuring her.

Jazzar, the king's vizier rode on his horse alongside Balal in front of the caravan. He looked back with a face of disgust. He really did not comprehend why the king was hanging around a Greek princess. She was Xena's daughter which only meant trouble down the road. Although, Samuel was good at getting what he wanted within reasonable measures of course. Jazzar tried to warn the king about coming in close contact with the Greeks. They were not the same people as the Persians.

The vizier saw the Greeks as inferior to the Persians. Their culture was less developed and the Persians had accomplished so much. Gifted in so many things –math, science, architecture, astronomy, alchemy –the list goes on. The Greeks had philosophy and art. Worthless things to learn according to the vizier.

Jazzar had been Phraates' vizier for many years. He was old as sin but still very quick. He himself had never held a sword, but did most of the battlefield exercises and planning over the years. Samuel had kept Jazzar on the back burner ever since he became king once he hit puberty. When Phraates died, Jazzar appointed one of Samuel's elder brothers to be king but he failed miserably and ended up making a mockery of the Persian Empire. When Samuel turned twelve Jazzar appointed him as king but acted as his advisor for awhile until the young age of sixteen. Samuel told Jazzar that he no longer needed a vizier and sent him on a sabbatical for a few years, asserting his independence.

Samuel believed that Jazzar was holding him back and doubted his authority to rule as a great king of Persia. It wasn't until a few years ago that he decided to allow Jazzar to resume his role as vizier again, but only as an advisor and nothing more.

The thin vizier rubbed his chin as he stared at Balal, the short Persian man riding on the horse across the way. "Balal, what do you think of the princess?"

Balal blinked and stuttered, "oh well...I –I think she is very nice. Princess Eve is a polite girl, very sweet and kind," he grinned.

"hmm," Jazzar nodded his head slowly, pretending to care. "I believe the king has become too close with the princess," he whispered. Balal said nothing and remained quiet. Jazzar snickered. "He has you wrapped around his little finger doesn't he?"

Balal frowned, "his highness is very generous to me. I would never betray his trust, vizier."

"I'm sure," Jazzar replied tersely. He pulled back on the horse's reins and tapped on the caravan. He saw Eve's slender hand pull back the curtains and he smiled creepily at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, princess."

She half grinned but said nothing. She felt Samuel come sit next to her and she set her hand on his lap, assuring him not to intervene. The vizier smirked and trotted alongside the caravan. "We should be reaching Anatolia by night fall. I wanted to make sure you are feeling well. Sometimes these long caravan rides can make others ill."

Eve raised a brow, "I'm fine thanks for asking," she scooted away from the window and felt Samuel's eyes burning into the side of her face. She frowned and snapped her head towards him. "Why does  _he_  have to come along?" she whispered forcefully.

Samuel sighed, "if I don't bring him it would look unprofessional in front of your mother. Remember Eve, this is a political meeting between two empires. This cannot be informal. What will she think of me if I just showed up with nobody to represent me?" he asked and she nodded, understanding his reasons.

"I don't like him," she folded her arms and cringed. "He stares at me like I'm the next plague."

The king hid his amusement at Eve's terrible joke. He didn't wish to upset her or bring more fire to the situation, but the things she said sometimes were quite funny. "You're definitely not a plague," he winked and Eve's cheeks reddened. He pulled out some fruit from the bag he carried with him and handed her a pear.

She shook her head refusing the fruit, although it looked really good right about now. The air was crisp and much colder than it was in Persia. Samuel frowned and scooted closer to her. "You  _still_  don't feel well?"

She shrugged a lazy shoulder, "I'm just nervous. I'm sure my appetite will return once I am back home," she smiled reassuring his worries. He put it off as being nerves and decided not to bother with it anymore. It was unlikely that she was going to budge anyway. She was very stubborn and she was probably the only woman who refused anything from him. He wasn't used to it, but actually didn't mind it coming from her. He secretly enjoyed her abstinence towards him.

Suddenly he shifted and sat across from her scrambling through his pocket to grab something. She frowned, furrowing her eyebrows as she watched him dig further into his pants to find whatever it was he desperately wanted. Finally, after a few struggling moments, he pulled out a really large locket. It was much bigger than any coin Eve had seen. He flipped the locket open and it was a sun dial in miniature form.

"What's that?" she leaned in closer and saw the dial's shadow slowly shifting.

"A sun dial that my astrologist gave me the other night before we left," he grinned and closed the locket back up. "He told me that he predicts great things will happen in the next year for me and my people."

Eve folded her arms disbelievingly and chuckled, shaking her head. "You and your astrology. You put too much faith into those scholars," she claimed. The king looked shocked and a bit hurt that she'd even say that. She saw the strange absence in his green eyes. "No offense, but I don't believe in those sorts of things."

Samuel grinned, "right. You have your Greek gods to predict stuff for you," he teased.

She frowned, "I don't rely on the gods for anything." Huffing she ignored his teasing manner. "My mother always told me that nobody can predict the future or your fate. We make our own fate."

"Perhaps I may have underestimated your mother, princess," he smiled knowing that really bothered her when he called her princess.

Eve smirked, "she has her moments of wisdom." She watched him as he twirled the sun dial locket in between his fingers. He was in awe with it. "She's not that bad you know," she admitted quietly. His eyes lifted with a small smug smile on his lips. "She's just..."

"Scary? Intimidating? Frightening?" Samuel teased although inside he was deeply serious. Xena scared him ever since he was a child. After she killed his father he never forgot the look on her face. She seemed relieved that he was gone, but once she saw the fear in his young eyes, she seemed to almost soften immediately. Samuel remembered that cold glare in her blue eyes change for a split second to concern for him as a child. He knew at that moment that she did not kill because she wanted to or liked to, it was just the opposite. He was too young to understand at the time because his eyes were blinded by hate for the Greek empress. But now, he felt the utmost respect for the woman and secretly thanked her for killing his father. He wasn't a good person nor a good ruler for Persia. He knew this even at the age of nine and now that he is king, he wanted to make Persia and Greece whole again.

"Just a joke," he lightened the mood and saw a smile appear on Eve's face. He really enjoyed seeing her smile. She had a beautiful smile and aura about her that he had never seen on any other woman before. He hadn't been around a lot of women in his life, at least not ones that he cared about. Since his mother and father were gone and his brothers remained absent, he was all alone. The vizier often encouraged him to marry one of his cousins to keep the family line pure, but he never wanted to do that. His cousin was gorgeous yes, but too shy and much too young, not to mention that she was his family. It wasn't so odd to marry family members in his culture, but it disinterested him. The vizier quickly found out that he could not force anything down the young king's throat like he did to his late father.

* * *

Xena was picking out fabric that was laid out on a large table downstairs in the atrium. She walked down the table and carefully examined each set of fabric and ones that she did not like she tossed away with a wave of her hand then one of the maids would grab the fabric and fold it into a basket. After many trials she finally picked a fabric that she liked –a nice dark sparkly burgundy. Pointing to that one the young maid grabbed it and opened up the long piece of fabric. Xena nodded her head overlooking the cloth once more. Smiling she decided that'd be the best fit for what she had in mind.

Later she came into her bedroom and saw Gabrielle meditating on the floor in a strange position. She closed the door behind her and raised a curious brow at her dear friend. "How can you stay in a position like that?" she circled Gabrielle like a hawk, examining her twisted body.

Gabrielle opened her eyes and saw Xena staring down at her. She smiled, almost tempted to laugh at her hilarious confused expression. "It's called yoga and it takes practice."

Xena folded her arms nodding her head, trying to understand just what she was doing. "Is this what you do when I give you time off?" she smirked. "Remind me to give you more work to do," she teased.

Gabrielle collapsed finally as Xena had distracted her enough. "You should try it with me sometime," she stood up and wiped the sweat off her brow. The empress turned her head slowly with a laughable 'are you insane' face.

"I don't think my body can contort in those positions anymore, Gabrielle. I may look younger but I am not," she shook her head and opened her closet to look for a set of clothing to wear for when Eve and her Persian consort arrived. "I picked out the fabric for Eve's dress I am going to have made for her."

"Oh you mean you finally chose one?" Gabrielle grinned and Xena frowned. "Xena, you must have gone through over fifty different colors. Let me guess, it's either blue, green or some shade of red." She rested her hands on her hips.

Xena pursed her lips, " _actually_  it's burgundy," she said defensively. "It's sparkly too," she added.

Gabrielle chuckled, "figures. So predictable," she wrapped the towel around her neck and saw Xena's jaw drop as if she were surprised.

"I am  _not_  predictable," she argued.

The blonde clicked her tongue and folded her arms, ready to challenge the empress. "Okay, so you either have that emerald green dress or the dark navy blue one with the mesh sleeves in your hands right now."

Xena looked at her hands and she indeed had both gowns of those exact descriptions in her possession. She put the gowns back on the hangers. "Lucky guess, Gabrielle," she mocked, rolling her eyes. The blonde giggled. She knew her too well. She then pulled out a black gown with silver trim on the sleeves and showed her blonde companion. "How's this for predictable?"

"You would pick black next," Gabrielle teased with a smug grin. Xena frowned and threw the gown on the bed feeling a bit defeated.

"I'm wearing it," she closed the closet doors and mumbled to herself. "Predictable...yeah right."

* * *

After a long week of traveling Eve and Samuel finally made it to Athens and came inside the palace entrance. Eve stepped out of the caravan, still exhausted from the long journey. She hardly slept or ate anything unlike Samuel. Her eyes scanned the palace and it brought a smile to her face. She missed seeing the grand white columned palace. This place was her home. Everything here was so different than the Persian palace she had grown to like. Everything was white and pristine. The gold finishes on the columns and doors was always a nice touch. It was so odd to see the statues of female goddesses in front of the palace instead of lions like the Persian palace. The large staircase in the front of the palace was also something she missed. It made for a grand entrance and also made visitors a bit intimidated as the empress stood at the top of the stairs.

She felt a hand came to the small of her back and she turned to see Samuel. "Happy to be home?" he asked and she nodded her head, unsure what to say or how to feel. She felt like she had been gone so long and never realized how much she missed her home until she was gone. Looking up at the top of the stairs she saw Gabrielle and then her mother coming out slowly from the entrance. She looked happy, but yet reserved or somewhat containing her emotions. Probably because Samuel was here and so was his Persian entourage.

Eve left his side and immediately ran up the mile of stairs to greet them both. Unexpectedly she crashed into her mother, hugging her tightly as if it were the last time she'd ever see her again. Xena's eyes widened and somehow forgotten what it felt like to be embraced like that from Eve. The only time she remembered when she hugged her like that was when she was about ten years old.

She pulled away and then hugged Gabrielle tightly as well. Gabrielle felt her lungs constrict and couldn't take in a deep breath enough for her to react equally. "I've missed you both so much," Eve said with a huge smile on her face.

"We missed you too, by the gods," Gabrielle exhaled deeply, catching her breath. She never knew that Eve would react like that. Xena smirked then saw the lonely king standing at the foot of the stairs pacing around in a circle, waiting patiently.

"Eve aren't you going to invite your guest in.." she eyed Samuel and Eve gasped, almost forgetting the poor guy was down there.

Eve hurried down the stairs and smiled at him. "Mother says I should invite you in."

"I don't know, I kind of liked staying outside?" he teased then took her hand and walked up the stairs into the palace following Xena and Gabrielle.

* * *

Once all were inside Xena lead everyone to sit down in a more comfortable area. Samuel was anxious and sat far away from Xena and Gabrielle but not too close to Eve. He was afraid of what she might say. Gabrielle eyed the two and smiled at Eve. She seemed just as nervous as Samuel was, although a different kind of nervous. She now understood what Xena meant from their conversation a few days ago about Eve. She really liked Samuel and it was very obvious even if she didn't intend it to be. The young king couldn't keep his eyes off of her even when Eve shied away from him.

Xena sat down and observed Samuel and his tense stance. She smiled, "am I making you uncomfortable?" she asked with a bit of mirth in her eyes.

Samuel nervously chuckled, "yes, very much," he answered.

"At least you are honest," Xena smiled. She saw the fear in his eyes, a different kind of fear. It had been awhile since she had dealt with such a young ruler. He was younger than Octavius was when she met him for the first time in person. This Persian king was a fine ruler and very polite, unlike his father. She admired his bravery for even coming up here no matter what Eve convinced him to do. "Well, I'm not here to make you feel uncomfortable as much as I'd like to. For the sake of my daughter, I'll be civil with you, Samuel," she winked. Her gestures only made him feel more uncomfortable but he did his best to hide it.

Eve sighed and leaned back in the cushioned chair watching the two exchange a silent conversation with their eyes. Samuel seemed the most nervous out of everyone. Meanwhile Gabrielle had her notepad ready to go. She was always taking notes but Eve had forgotten that this was technically a business meeting. She also forgot that her mother was in the room and that she was the empress and he king.

The longer he stared at Xena the more he realized that this was a challenge for him to assert himself. He now understood her game and she was very good at it. she had many years on her plate as a ruler and he had so few compared to her. She couldn't possibly take me seriously, he thought.

"I came here to ask if I could ally with your empire. It was brought to my attention that you and Octavius are now at war with one another yet again. He will try and come to me for help. While E..." he eyed Eve and corrected himself. "...the princess stayed with me I realized that it would seem odd not to ally with her mother's empire. The Persian Empire used to be friends with the Greeks and I'd like to rekindle that relationship. I believe that it would do both of us some good especially since Rome is expanding her empire further into the eastern lands."

Xena nodded her head quite impressed with the king's little speech. It seemed that Eve had done well, although she felt that most of those words were his own and not her doing at all. Perhaps Eve's going to Persia was a good thing after all. She sat up and crossed one leg over the other. "I never had a problem with the Persians you know. Some people just made it more difficult for me to like them..."

Samuel smiled softly, "my father was a pain I understand. I grew up with him as a father and a ruler. I would listen to him rant about you and the entire Greek race. It never made any sense because my mother was half Greek," he admitted this to no one until now. Only his father knew of this. Gabrielle's eyes widened and she continued to record everything he said down on the parchment.

"so technically, I am one of you," he smiled and Xena smiled in return. She was enjoying this young man's company and his manners as well. She almost didn't want to believe him since he was the seed of Phraates but he truly was unlike his father. "We are all the same people no matter where we come from. It is silly that we have our lands divided because of our color, culture, food and language. For a long time I've wanted a better world and ever since I became king I wanted a better Persia for my people. Everyone deserves to be more educated about other people's cultures. We could all learn from one another."

Xena blinked, unsure of what to say after that lengthy speech he just gave. "You have a way with words that I do not have. I am impressed with you Samuel but you have not won me over yet. You may have been gifted by Virgil The Poet, but are you good with a sword?" she grinned deviously.

Samuel became serious and curtly nodded his head. "I have been trained by some of the best assassins in Persia, empress. I may have not been in a war but I have seen it. I want to avoid it," he said honestly.

Xena shared a glance with Gabrielle and both smiled at each other. She focused back to Samuel. "War is unavoidable in this world, but anyone who enjoys war is a fool. I used to look forward to wars because it meant that there would be a victor and a loser. It is different when you are not alone and I once told a good friend of mine that it is not a nice feeling to be alone," she eyed Gabrielle once more.

Samuel followed her eyes and hid a grin when he realized that someone was Gabrielle that the empress spoke of. The words that his father said about Xena were all wrong. She was intimidating but she was not the snake that he made her out to be. She was compassionate and strong. She was not the Xena that his father ranted about for years and years.

"Forgive me but...I was not expecting you to be like this," he began.

This did not surprise Xena one bit. "Were you expecting a hydra with six heads?" she teased. He shook his head unsure how to respond to that. "Small joke. I make those a lot. Octavius loves them," she winked.

Eve rolled her eyes, "she's joking again," she told him and Samuel smiled for the first time, no longer feeling uncomfortable. He looked at the princess with soft eyes and Xena tilted her chin watching the two exchange a silent stare with each other.

Xena interrupted the two's little conversation. "This meeting is very informal and I am eager to learn more from you, Samuel but I'd like to steal my daughter for awhile. We will revisit this conversation, yes?" she stood up and he copied her. He nodded her head and she replied with a smile.

Eve stood up and felt a rush overcome her and an instant headache emerged. She fell back down into the chair placing her hand over her forehead. Gabrielle stood up coming to her aid but Samuel had beat her to it. He knelt down next to her and placed his hand on hers. Gabrielle looked to see Xena a bit confused. Xena creased her brows and watched the young Persian and his genuine concern for her daughter. It was an odd sight to see and she somewhat wished she had that when she was her age.

He stood up and folded his arms. "She hardly ate anything the entire way here. I am sure she is overly tired," he nodded.

Xena frowned and grabbed Eve's hand gently pushing her to Gabrielle's arms. "Take her to her room, Gabrielle," she pushed them along. Samuel began following them and Xena put her arm in front of his chest. "We can handle it from here," she curtly said.

Samuel didn't like that but he had to remember that he was a guest in her home and after that nice conversation, he'd hate to spoil that. "Will you let me know if she's alright then?" he felt a bit out of bounds when he asked this but he didn't really care.

Xena raised an eyebrow at the young king. He truly cared for Eve, very strange she noted. "I will."

He sat down watching the three women disappear upstairs. He sighed heavily and his head hung low as he waited. He figured that he would be waiting here for a long time and he was rather impatient with these things.

* * *

A few hours later Gabrielle had managed to get Eve to drink an abundance of liquid and tried to make her eat something but refused many times. She sat up in bed as she listened to Gabrielle talk to her constantly to keep her busy from impending boredom.

Xena walked into the room and leaned against the wall listening to Gabrielle talk and talk. She could talk her way out of anything, she thought. Gabrielle caught a glimpse of her and smiled. Eve saw her eyes travel elsewhere and turned around to see her mother standing in the doorway. The empress grinned at her daughter and Eve smiled weakly.

"He keeps asking about you," she meant Samuel and Eve let out a sharp sigh. "How are you feeling now?"

Eve shrugged, "alright I guess. I haven't been feeling myself for awhile. He told me to tell you...but I didn't want to worry you," she mumbled.

Xena sighed and sat down on the bed next to her with Gabrielle on the opposite side. "So you think telling me now makes me any less worried?" she grinned as her finger traced Eve's slender cheek.

Eve shook her head with a small smile. "No..." she admitted shyly, almost feeling like a child again. "I just wanted to do things on my own."

Gabrielle looked at Xena and saw the color fade from her face. "Where have I heard that before," she saw Xena look away then she got up and turned her back towards them. "It's alright to do things on your own. We both encourage it but...you don't have to be alone. We are both here for you, you know this right?"

The brunette princess nodded, "I understand that but you both can't mother me forever."

Gabrielle saw Xena staring out the window and decided that they should both leave. She got up and squeezed Eve's hand. "I think your mother and I will leave you alone for awhile. I can send Samuel up here to keep you company if you'd like?" she eyed Xena and saw that she did not even flinch. Eve's eyes lit up at that. She expected her mother to protest but got silence instead. "Xena, let's go," she grabbed a hold of her arm and they left the room closing the door behind them.

"Did you hear what she said?" Gabrielle whispered outside of Eve's room. Xena remained quiet and Gabrielle slapped her arm.

The empress frowned, "Yes I heard what she said." She turned to look at the closed door and closed her eyes recollecting herself. "She has been gone for far too long," she narrowed her eyes. Her mind began ticking and she thought of all the scenarios running through her mind.

Gabrielle was confused at what Xena said. She didn't understand but what she did see were the gears turning in Xena's head. "What does that even mean?"

"You will see, Gabrielle."


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: dang, so much drama, so little time ;)**

_Chapter 15_

Samuel sat with Eve on her bed keeping her company for awhile. He knew that Xena did not like him near her daughter but he was grateful that she even allowed him to come in her room. He tried his best to keep Eve occupied while she laid in bed. He began talking about all of the different types of stars that he studied over the years. He explained each star had its own name and all meant something different when it came to interpretation when applied to real life situations. She seemed interested and followed along, smiling the entire time.

Eve cocked her head to the side staring at Samuel as he went on and on about these stars he had been studying. He looked at her and stopped talking. "Why did you stop?" she asked curiously.

"I don't want to bore you," he admitted shyly. "I just don't want you to get bored," he winked.

She smirked, "I'm not bored," she reached for her glass of water and sipped it carefully. It was the only thing she was able to keep down currently. She cringed and had become quite bored of drinking water and it wasn't much, but if downed too fast her stomach began to churn and twist.

Samuel half smiled, seeing the discomfort on her face. "Your mother is worried about you."

Eve nodded, "she's always worried about me," she grinned.

"Isn't that her right as a mother?" he teased and scooted closer to her. "I'm worried for you too, is that a bad thing as well?"

She sighed, "no I didn't say that. It's just...there's nothing to be worried about! I just don't feel well but I'll be better soon I'm sure of it," she pat his knee gently, but he seemed suspicious.

Both heard the door open and Gabrielle stepped inside with a tall glass of some kind of concoction. Eve's face contorted and she frowned. She didn't want to know what was in that glass but it couldn't be good. Gabrielle smiled anxiously at the Persian king and he stood up immediately feeling a bit awkward. "Could I have a moment alone with Eve?" she asked politely.

He smiled and bowed his head curtly, "it's your home," he turned to leave and Gabrielle sat on the edge of the bed close to Eve. "I can...come back to see her later?" he asked hopeful. Gabrielle smiled warmly and nodded her head. He was thankful of that and left closing the door behind him.

Just as he turned around he saw Xena standing just a few inches away from him with a smirk on her face. He blinked and cleared his throat feeling that this was just a bit too close for his taste in personal space. "Hello," Xena greeted him in a low voice.

"Empress..." he answered in a clear voice, not entirely sure what she was doing. He saw her hand raise and his eyes followed it. she placed her hand on his shoulder firmly and his body tensed up.

"You should walk with me, Samuel," she gestured to the stairs and he nodded his head. She lead the way and he walked alongside her, not sure what she was up to but he felt like such a small child around her.

* * *

They walked outside into the gardens. Great, he thought, no witnesses in case I die. Xena was silent so far and she looked around at the flowers and vines covering the archways as they walked together. He really liked her home, it was beautiful on the inside and outside. He could see why Eve missed this place. Although, his palace was equally as extravagant, but these gardens were definitely something out of a fairytale.

"You like my daughter a lot, don't you Samuel?" Xena began rather bluntly, throwing the young king off a bit.

He cleared his throat not sure how to answer that. "No, empress."

"So you're lying to me?" she smiled.

Samuel felt his heart beat quicken as she began to question him. "No, empress..."

"You do like her then?" Xena could feel his nerves seeping out of his pores and she secretly enjoyed torturing the young king.

He cringed and tried to remain as professional as possible. "Yes, empress. Forgive me, I'm acting...strange," he couldn't find the best word to describe his feelings. His cheeks reddened once he said that. It was a poor translation from his language to hers, he noted. Xena laughed under her breath, noting he was indeed acting 'strange' as he put it. "I'm sorry," he sighed.

She put her hand up, "don't apologize to me," she said firmly and he shut his mouth instantly with no response. "Do you like children, Samuel?"

The Persian's eyes widened and he thought this question was rather personal, although Xena didn't seem to be shy about anything he realized this as soon as he met her. "They're pretty neat. One of my older brothers has five children, all girls," he smiled. "I believe his wife is expecting another one soon in the spring."

Xena nodded her head as she pursed her lips, "the Persians are very family oriented, are they not?"

He agreed with that though he didn't understand why she cared about Persian's lifestyle at the moment. "We tend to have very large families, so yes, I suppose we are." He saw Xena's eyes narrow as they continued walking together. He wanted to ask why she was asking such questions but decided to keep quiet and let her do the questioning. He was her guest in her home. He knew that she would do the same if she were in his home.

"And you want children someday too?" she smiled at him eerily and he didn't like that look at all. She looked like she was up to something or maybe ready to kill him. He didn't know.

Samuel stammered and he didn't know what to say. "Well I...maybe someday," he looked elsewhere, not daring to look in her blue frightening eyes.

"That's good to know," Xena halted in her step and Samuel stopped as well. He turned to look at her and she still had that eerie smile on her lips. "Samuel...you are a nice person, I can tell. I want to remain good friends with you and I will consider allying with your empire." His eyes lit up at that and he almost thanked her until she held up her finger. "On one condition," he remained stoic and anxious waiting for her proposal. "You marry my daughter," she frowned deeply.

Samuel's eyes widened at what she just said. He wasn't expecting her to say that at all. "Empress...I...why do you want me to marry your daughter?"

Xena smiled folding her arms, leaning towards him. "Is my daughter not good enough for you?" she hissed.

He shook his head, "no, no empress! She is perfect like the stars and moons," he spoke poetically and Xena raised her eyebrows, not quite expecting a response like that.

"When should I tell her?" he asked lamely, not sure how to continue this awkward conversation. He had always been ordered to marry women throughout his life by the vizier and now he was being ordered by the Greek Empress to marry her daughter. He didn't abject to it, but he was thoroughly confused.

Xena licked her lips, "oh don't you worry about that, I will tell her myself," she turned to leave and called out, "please, feel free to make yourself at home," she said nonchalantly with a smirk on her face. She left the confused king alone in the gardens as she went back into the palace to see how her daughter was fairing.

Samuel sat down on a bench and rested his chin on his hand, not sure what to make of that odd talk he just had with the empress. He didn't think she was going to say something like that. "Marry her?" he said aloud, not believing it. "Marry a Greek princess?" he kept speaking to himself. He saw a few small eyes staring at him. A few school children had caught sight of him and he smiled at them, still a bit miffed from earlier. The young girls smiled at him and ran along to go to their class.

* * *

Up in Eve's bedroom Gabrielle had finally gotten the princess to drink the awful concoction after several tries. Eve sipped some of it and it stained the inside of her mouth green and she coughed, barely getting it down. Gabrielle stifled a laugh, noting Eve's face was priceless. She had the same face she made when she drank wine at the age of seven. Her lips puckered and her eyes must have grown two sizes.

"I can't drink any more of this," Eve pushed the glass away and Gabrielle pushed her back to her mouth.

"Oh yes you can," she pushed the glass against Eve's lips and the princess groaned, not liking this treatment at all. She was trying to relax and here she was trying to make her drink this awful thing.

Eve shook her head, "Gabrielle this is torturous...I can't really," she lowered the glass and felt instantly sick to her stomach. She was able to drink half the glass and thought that'd be enough. "It tastes like charcoal...and...grass?" she shook her head, wrapping her arm around her midsection. Gabrielle smirked and took the glass from her, seeing that she was quite serious that she definitely couldn't drink any more of it.

"It should make you feel better I promise," Gabrielle rubbed Eve's arm and the princess's eyes widened. Her cheeks paled and she leaned over the side of her bed and vomited every last morsel within her body into a flower vase next to her bed.

Xena opened the door and her eyes traveled down to see her daughter leaning over the bed. She raised an eyebrow and heard Eve's subtle moans and groans. She sighed and looked to Gabrielle who seemed rather helpless but rather stressed out.

Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders, "I tried," she held up the glass shaking her head. Xena smirked at her dear friend and sat down on her daughter's bed once Gabrielle stood up, allowing Xena to take her spot. Xena grabbed onto Eve and pulled her up leaning her against the headboard of the bed. She wiped her mouth with her thumb and saw that she definitely did not look well at all.

She couldn't help but laugh at her and Eve frowned. She exhaled slowly and folded her arms, "what...is exactly so funny mother?"

Xena pulled herself together, "Nothing is funny, I'm sorry," she smiled holding back laughter.

Eve coughed and brought her knees close to her chest and buried her head in between her knees. "I'm going to die," she whined dramatically. Gabrielle smiled, covering her mouth and Xena winked at her.

"You're not going to die," Xena pat her daughter's leg.

"That's what you think!" the princess's voice muffled in between her legs.

Gabrielle tapped the glass and looked to Xena. She nudged her heard towards the door. "I'm going to go get some bread for her..."

Eve popped up with a distressed look on her face. "Food?! Please no..." she begged and Gabrielle smiled, disappearing from her bedroom. Xena sighed and scooted closer to Eve and sat beside her, stretching out her legs on her bed. "Mother, you're not going to make me eat the food are you?" she pleaded like a child. Xena grinned and wrapped her arm around her daughter, kissing the top of her head.

"You're such a drama queen," she said and Eve shot her a mean glare. "You are..." she teased and Eve folded her arms resting her head on her mother's shoulder.

Eve threw her hands up, her big blue eyes clearly filled with concern. "I don't know what's wrong with me!" she huffed and plopped her hands in her lap, "it's like this endless cycle. It's been like this for over a month and I just can't...I don't know," she sighed heavily.

Xena could understand how she was feeling all too well. She too had a similar reaction when she was around her age. She didn't understand what was happening to her body until it was far too late then by the time she knew, she didn't know how to handle it. of course it only ended in disaster, but Xena was going to make sure that wouldn't happen to Eve. She had family here with her and Xena had nobody. She tried to do things her own way and that didn't end well –it never did.

"Nothing is wrong with you," she comforted her daughter. Gabrielle came back into the room with a tray of flat bread and yogurt. Eve looked up at the tray and instantly felt the knots in her stomach return. Xena sighed and took the tray from Gabrielle setting it on the bed.

Gabrielle had a miffed look and Eve noticed. Her mother though, had a different look on her face that she hadn't seen before. She was not upset, sad or had that goofy face that Gabrielle had. No, she was being a mother, not an empress. She hadn't seen her act like that in quite some time. She had turned off her empress mode and was a normal mother.

Xena folded the bread as she spread the yogurt in the middle and raised an eyebrow at her daughter. Eve looked at the bread, it would have seemed delicious a few weeks ago, but now it looked unappealing. "Come on..." she smiled warmly and pushed the bread further towards Eve's mouth and she continued to back away. "Eve, please, just try," she looked into her daughter's glossy blue eyes and they were pitiful to look at.

"I can't," Eve put her hand up refusing the bread. Gabrielle sat on the bed staring at Eve then at Xena. She looked more concerned than Eve was.

 _Okay if you don't want to eat the yogurt then perhaps the bread._ Xena took a fresh piece of the flatbread and ripped off a small corner of it. "Without the yogurt," she pressed on further, hoping that she'd eat it. "Please for me?" she smiled and Eve sighed, not really giving into her mother's sweet ways right now. She didn't want to touch the bread at all. It looked like a disaster in the making. Xena realized she was going about this all the wrong way. She was trying to be nice and comforting, as much as she could, but Eve was stubborn, as usual. She was going to have to be blunt and she knew Gabrielle was just waiting for it. She could see the blonde eagerly waiting to burst from the awkward air filling the room. She also had a goofy smile on her face.

"If you won't do it for me then perhaps you will for your child," Xena said and it suddenly got quiet and Eve's eyes widened, her mouth gaped, completely in shock, in awe. Gabrielle let out a much needed sigh.

"I thought you'd never say it," Gabrielle grinned and Xena rolled her eyes. She turned her attention back to Eve who was speechless for once in her life.

Xena smiled at Eve's face. She was completely frozen. "Bet you weren't expecting that were you?" she teased winking at her daughter.

Eve looked into her mother's eyes and then saw Gabrielle looking rather excited or something like it. "How did you know and I didn't..." she lowered her head, her eyes roaming the bed and her hands in her lap.

"I just noticed a few symptoms that's all," she said casually. Eve was still in shock and then realization set in. what in the world was she going to tell Samuel?

"What am I going to tell Samuel?" she cupped her cheeks and her breath quickened. She felt herself hyperventilating and Xena grabbed her shoulders firmly, trying to calm her down.

"Hey, calm down," she hushed her. "Don't worry about him. He and I came to...an agreement earlier," she smiled sneakily. Eve didn't like that look at all. Now she was worried, but her mother's touch definitely calmed her down. "I asked him to marry you," she said bluntly.

Eve raised an eyebrow at her mother. She wasn't angry nor was she freaking out anymore but now she was confused. " _Marry_  Samuel? Mother why would you propose an idea like that...?"

"I don't want you to end up like me. A fatherless child is nothing that a child or a mother should ever have in life, especially the life that we have," Xena admitted sadly. Gabrielle frowned at that, she knew how much that still hurt Xena even after all these years. "You don't seem opposed to the idea," she grinned.

Eve shrugged her shoulder, "Samuel and I...have a special relationship," she blushed. "Does that mean that you are going to ally with the Persian Empire then?" she asked hopeful that was the case. Xena half rolled her eyes and she took that as a yes. "If I marry Samuel then that means...I will be a  _queen_ ," she smirked.

"I don't care if you're a queen, you're still my daughter and my word trumps yours," Xena said firmly and Eve sat stilly and nodded her head, noting her empress mode had suddenly switched back on. "I almost forgot, I have a present for you," she got up and went to her bedroom. Gabrielle grinned and scooted closer to Eve.

"She got me a present?" Eve asked Gabrielle. She was surprised she did that for her. Her mother never gave her presents. That was usually Gabrielle's department.

"She wanted to get you something for when you returned home," Gabrielle grinned and kissed Eve's cheek. The princess smiled, no longer feeling so terrible anymore. Xena returned with a sparkly burgundy sleeveless gown. Eve's eyes lit up and she immediately got out of bed to examine the gown for herself.

"Well I guess you won't be able to wear this for long but...I had it made for you," Xena smiled and Eve took the dress, feeling the soft fabric in her hands. Eve then came and gave her mother a hug, squeezing her tightly.

* * *

The following morning Xena received a letter that she had been waiting for. Gabrielle was in Xena's office sitting at her desk writing up a storm and organizing various documents while Xena was reading quietly to herself. She ripped open the letter and it was from Octavius. "Oh he's so...infuriating." she tossed the letter on the desk and Gabrielle looked at the letter and wanted to read it but she was really busy.

"What did he say?" she asked as she continued to write.

Xena groaned and leaned back in her chair, "he has already attacked Assyria and Solan is there with Allat. I hope they are alright. We need to send some of our men to help them. Assyria is our ally."

Gabrielle nodded, "I'll get on it once I finish this," she sighed rubbing her forehead feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Xena saw her friend was rather stressed out and she didn't need anything extra coming onto her plate of things to do. "No Gabrielle, I will handle it. you have enough to worry about," she smiled and Gabrielle grinned thankful of her for taking over. She was so busy she didn't think she could handle another task at the moment. Xena got up and took her sword with her twirling it in the air out of habit.

"What are you going to do about Eve and Samuel?" Gabrielle asked before Xena exited the office.

The empress smirked, "oh you mean the wedding? I will make preparations for that soon. Don't you worry about that. Can't have war without love can you, Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Stop joking around, Xena. It's going to get you killed one day," she teased.

Xena felt hurt. "I thought you liked my jokes!" she feigned sadness and her blonde consort waved her hand dismissively at her. Xena chuckled, "Gabrielle," she said seriously this time and she looked up from her mound of paperwork. "When you're finished with that, I want you and I to spend quality time together."

"Wow, since when do you make time for that?" she smirked.

"Only for a select few of people in my life," she winked. "Now excuse me I have some troops to ship off," she twirled her sword in her hand and left the office in a rather good mood. She hadn't been in a good mood for awhile now, but everything seemed to be working out so far.

* * *

Eve came down the stairs in a black knee length dress with a gold sash wrapped around her slim waist. She knew Samuel had to be around here somewhere. She knew her mother had put him up in the West wing of the palace, but she was sure he was up by now. Outside in the atrium she heard the swishing of a blade and boots scraping on the sandy soil. She rounded the corner and saw Samuel practicing with a sword, shirtless of course, what an awful distraction, especially in her mother's home.

She peered from the archway and he was so focused he didn't even realize he had eyes on him. "Samuel..." she slowly said his name and his blade swung in the air and he turned to face her with a beaming face. He ran his fingers through his long dark wavy hair that reached his shoulders. She smiled at him and he set the blade down on a bench to come to her.

"Eve, you're feeling better I see," he was happy to see she was out of bed after yesterday. She nodded and he grabbed her hands, kissing her knuckles softly. "Your mother...spoke to me yesterday about a proposal."

Eve knew about it since her mother told her. "Yes I know, she told me." She saw relief cross his eyes and she smiled then creased her brows. "Do you... _want_  to marry me?" she asked curiously.

He half laughed. "Your mother didn't really give me a choice," he saw the smile fade from her face and he didn't like to see a frown cross her lips. "I mean, even if she didn't force me to I would probably have asked you eventually."

Eve half smiled, " _probably_?" she teased.

"I would have," he said seriously. The wonderful smile he liked to see so much appeared back on her lips and he grinned. He kissed her forehead and looked in her eyes. She seemed like she had something on her mind. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head, "no nothing is wrong. There's something I need to tell you..."

He became concerned and held onto her hands firmly, "what is it? you don't have the fever do you?" he scanned her body.

Eve laughed, "no, no! nothing like that. I um..." she looked into his green sparkling eyes and realized she didn't have anything to fear. He had been so understanding so far and even put up with her mother. "I'm pregnant," she blurted out finally and he paused, unsure what to say.

"Pregnant?" his eyes grew and then the conversation he had with Xena yesterday was beginning to make sense now. All that talk of children and she was hinting the entire time and he had no idea. "Of course you are!" he exclaimed and Eve blinked, a bit miffed at his reaction. "It all makes sense..."

She frowned, "what makes sense?"

He shook his head dismissing that thought. He didn't really want to explain to Eve about the talk that her mother gave him yesterday and it was a weird one at that. Then realization began to sink in, "God, you're mother is going to kill me isn't she?" he ran his fingers through his hair and began pacing around in a circle speaking in his native language. Eve watched him dig a hole into the sand and he wouldn't stop talking to himself.

She smiled, "Samuel..." she tried to get his attention and he continued to pace around. "Samuel!" she yelled and he paused. "She's not going to kill you. If she was going to do that she would have done that already."

"Right..." he realized he was acting rather irrational and completely forgot about how she was handling everything. He came up to her with a nervous smile. "I'm sorry, forgive that little...whatever that was." His eyes traveled down to her stomach and he brushed his fingers over the fabric her dress. "You must forgive my loss of words."

"It's alright I just –"

"Samuel!" Xena's voice boomed down the marble hallway and she saw him standing with her daughter and she raised an eyebrow.

He stepped away from Eve, putting on his royal face. "Yes, empress?"

Xena saw Eve fold her arms and her face redden. She smirked, "you're wanted in the training grounds."

He frowned, he hadn't heard anything about any training ground? "By orders of whom?"

"By orders of  _me_ ," she tapped the hilt of her sword. She scanned his naked torso and she pointed the blade at his chest. "Might want to put on some clothes," she winked and disappeared. "I haven't got all day!" she called out from inside the palace. Samuel blushed and quickly put on his tunic and grabbed his sword.

He ran passed Eve then ran back and kissed her cheek. "I promise we will talk later," he smiled and followed Xena to these so called training grounds.

* * *

Once they reached the training grounds Xena was up in the balcony overlooking the soldiers training. Samuel was standing next to her and he peered over the balcony and saw Gabrielle was down there. He definitely needed to know more about Gabrielle. She was a quiet one...but he felt that she was not quiet at all.

Xena felt her hand stinging and a shooting pain went up her arm suddenly. She winced and looked down at her hand. It had changed to a dark reddish brown color and then the color faded as if it wasn't there anymore. Her eyes widened, feeling a bit self conscious, she didn't want to show it. That's new, she thought. She had forgotten about the elixir this entire time because she felt normal...perhaps it was some strange side effect that she didn't know about? She didn't understand anything about the elixir still, but as long as it didn't cause any problems..she was fine with it. there was always no sign of Eris or Ares, which was a good thing, but she felt that something was awry.

"So why did you bring me here, empress?" Samuel interrupted her thoughts and she smiled at him.

"I need you to do something for me."


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: thanks to all for following along in this journey! Things are looking good for Xena so far, or are they? Enjoy :D**

Chapter 16

 _"Old as time long foretold_  
We all know how it ends before it has grown old  
By the hand of the Queen our hearts shall be redeemed

Out for blood call the bluff on his heart for the queen  
Takes the lead and foresees stakes decline here tonight  
Play the game, lead the way ready to crush and scorn  
Blood will fall from her thorns for the queen is reborn."

_Assyria_

Solan sat with Allat inside of the palace in the center of Assyria. Allat had lost his status as king once Octavius overthrew him, taking his entire empire for himself. Assyria will now be known as a Roman state, something that Allat's mother would have had a heart attack over. He felt so ashamed of himself and thought his mother must be rolling in her grave because of his failure to keep his kingdom afloat.

Solan felt like a failure as well. He and Allat decided to sulk alone in his palace guarded with Romans. He had failed Greece, his mother and Gabrielle. He promised he would keep Allat and his people safe but he failed them all. Now Assyria belonged to mother Rome, the most wretched mother on the planet. There was nothing left to do but sit and wait for something to change. The Romans had taken the entire Assyrian army and sent them away to a prison camp because of their refusal to join Octavius. Anyone who defies the emperor was sentenced to death or imprisoned. For that, Allat felt like he was the most awful king there had to be in the history of Assyria.

His people counted on him and he abandoned them all. The empire would surely parish under Roman rule, he knew this to be true. Solan lounged on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Allat was playing a game of chess by himself for the last two hours. He had grown tired and bored of sitting around. Allat swiped his hand over the chest pieces and threw the board across the room. Solan sat up and saw the young king was irate, overcome with grief and anger.

"You have the power of Ares scorching through your veins, brother," Solan smirked, laying back down, ignoring his friend's tantrum.

Allat rubbed his forehead and groaned loudly. "I cannot stand here and do nothing, Solan!"

Solan sat up again, "Octavius has your empire now, Allat. There is nothing you can do...I'm sorry..." he frowned, sad for his friend.

Allat's eyebrow raised as he saw something very interesting outside of the large balcony. The morning was bright and sunny, unlike his mood. He moved closer to the balcony slowly, his bare feet stepping over the chess pieces. Solan saw the Assyrian king in a trance of some sort. "What is it?" he asked the king.

He came closer and stepped out onto the small balcony and through the clouds he saw the Greek eye staring straight back at him. Squinting from the sunlight beaming in his eyes he smiled softly. Not one Greek eye, but many scattered in a diamond in the Aegean Sea. Solan stood up and noticed Allat raise his arms up, as if praising a deity and he let out a loud victory yell.

Solan ran to the balcony and saw ten Greek ships sailing in the Aegean. He recognized that Greek eye anywhere, the sails were hard to miss, he thought. "The reinforcements have arrived," he smiled widely and then Allat embraced him tightly and kissed his cheek forcefully, catching him off guard.

"Your mother is truly a goddess, my friend," Allat's smile had not disappeared and as the ships came closer to the shore he saw the ship leading the way raise a large black sail with an X on it. he slapped his hand on Solan's back roughly, "I must go greet them," he left the balcony grabbing his sword and slipped on some flats.

Solan looked on at the ships as they crashed into the sands of Assyria, one by one, forming a line of ten war ships. He wished his mother would have told him that she were sending soldiers to come aid Assyria, but he figured that the letter would be compromised in this area because of the Romans guarding every inch of the place. Surely, the Romans were not prepared for this. Smiling, he thought what a conniving woman his mother really was. Spontaneous was more the word he looked for.

* * *

_Coast of Anatolia_

Tiberius had occupied a large abandoned palace on the coast of Anatolia to maintain the grounds that Octavius had captured. The Roman empire will grow so large that it will stretch for miles, country to country. Octavius will make it become a reality. Tiberius knew that he was more than able to do so. He had been working on this plan for many years and since Xena took a hiatus from the battlefield, anything was game, and her empire was next. The general knew that Octavius would reign victorious in the end and Xena would perish, once and for all.

Truth to be told, he thought that Xena would have given up a long time ago, but here she was. He also thought that she would be an old queen by now but by Octavius' description of her lately, she hadn't changed and looked better than before. Tiberius wondered if his emperor had been on the opium and liquor lately because he simply could not believe his words.

The general's assistant came running into the throne room where Tiberius was going over copious amounts of paperwork and maps to send to Octavius while he was in Rome. He looked up at the labored breathing man and frowned. "What is it, Daniel?" he eyed him cautiously.

"Sir, I think you need to see for yourself. It is as if she has come back from the dead!" he exclaimed and Tiberius threw down his quill and followed Daniel to the nearest balcony.

He looked out into the open Mediterranean Sea and saw six war ships heading for the coast. That awful Greek eye staring back into his soul. He thought that Xena was ambitious but he truly doubted her. Frowning he grew more angry as he stared at the Greek sails swaying in the gentle breeze of the morning wind. On the bow of each ship there were statues of mermaids with wild hair, almost resembling serpent hair like that of Medusa, the gorgon. That is exactly what Xena was to Tiberius –a gorgon; a gorgon that never seems to die no matter how many snakes you cut off –perhaps she was more like a hydra.

He took off his cape and threw it on the ground. Daniel looked alongside his general in fear of the ships nearing. "What will we do, sir?" he asked softly.

Tiberius scowled, "we will destroy her. I want her destroyed!" he cried out and turned on his heel to leave the balcony. "Make sure those ships do not come any closer. Prepare the catapults," he demanded and Daniel nodded, leaving the palace immediately to alert the men on the coast.

* * *

_Carthage_

Luka, one of Octavius' best ship navigators guarded the coast of Carthage and maintained the rest of the African coast in his possession while the emperor retreated back to Rome. Octavius made sure he had each person posted at his territories for security purposes. Luka sat in a villa, close to the coast drinking hot coffee in the middle of the hot summer morning. He was reading over a long treaty that he needed to bring to all the African territories by Fall. He looked up from his glass and noticed five large war ships coming for his coast.

He stood up setting the coffee glass on the armrest of his chair. He set down the lengthy treaty and frowned. Grabbing a seeing-scope he adjusted the poor piece of glass enough to see the blue Greek eye staring into his very soul. He knew that eye too well, he had seen it before many times in his life. The eye was protection from evil and evil-dooers. But here it was, all the evil in the Mediterranean Sea had come to Carthage to show itself after many years of absence.

"By all the gods in Olympus..." he spoke softly as he watched the ships make their way to the coastline of Carthage. "She is back." He frowned and put down the scope, tipping over his chair out of anger and frustration. Though he noticed something peculiar about those war ships. A mermaid statue on the bow of each ship, he thought that was odd. Xena never had mermaids on her bow, in fact he didn't know if she had anything on her ships. Also, the shape of the ships were not Greek at all, but Persian he noticed. He knew a Persian ship when he saw one and those five ships were not Greek, but Persian.

"Greek sails..Persian ships," he grinned, "how  _fascinating_."

* * *

_Amphipolis –Thrace_

A woman working in the wheat fields outside of her villa felt a violent breeze come through. She and the other villagers had little to work with after the Romans came through Thrace and destroyed most of their crops and homes. She was fortunate enough to live close to the coast and had little damage to her farm and home.

Looking out to the ocean she frowned as she saw a line of war ships coming in. she feared it was more Romans and they had come to completely excavate her home and farm. The fog subsided and she saw large sails hoisted up from afar. Squinting her eyes she held her free hand over her eyes against the bright morning sun. The Greek eye. It took her a moment to realize but then she finally clicked. The Greek eye. She dropped the wheat stalks in her arms and covered her mouth, not believing it was so.

She went running back to her home almost tripping in the process, scaring the horses and sheep. She burst through the doors and her husband eyed her curiously, noting the surprised yet shocked look on his wife's face. She ran to him and cupped his cheeks in her palms. "She has come to free us from the Romans!" she shouted and his eyes widened.

"What are you on about, woman?" he frowned, still confused.

She pointed to the seaside and she was simply speechless. Nothing more would leave her mouth. He got up throwing his tools down on the table. He stepped outside on the hill and saw the war ships coming to shore of Thrace.

"The Greek eye..." he whispered, not believing what he was seeing before his eyes. He thought their empress had abandoned them –left them to die for the Romans. He smiled feeling relieved seeing ships for the first time.

"She's going to free us all," his wife reiterated.

He folded his arms with a big smile on his face. "About time," he chuckled.

* * *

_Athens_

Xena laid out a map in front of Samuel and Gabrielle in her office on a long table. She placed little model ships on the map at each corner of the Mediterranean Sea –Carthage, Anatolia, Assyria and Thrace. She and Gabrielle had devised a plan to shock the Romans into defeat. With the help of Samuel's large navy Xena was able to scatter many ships to each of these areas to trap the Romans. It was not an attack, but a scare tactic that Persians used many times. She thought it would not work, but figured if she had each corner of the expanding Roman Empire, that it would work. Using the Persian ships instead of her own she was able to use over thirty war ships to her advantage while still keeping her own Greek war ships in the port of Athens in case she needed them.

Using her own army of men and Samuel's army they were able to fill the ships full of soldiers. Though she told them not to attack the Romans, only to set up barricades. She didn't want to slaughter the Romans all in one blow, that would be foolish of her. No, she just wanted to send Octavius a message –a message that she was serious about regaining her status as the Empress of Greece. She wanted everything he had and she was willing to fight for it. She lost once, but she wouldn't lose again; she was going to make sure of that.

This entire plan was put in action the fastest she had ever seen. With her army and Samuel's they were able to execute this plan in a matter of three weeks, less than a month. Her name was going to be spread throughout the western world as the greatest empress there was. She wanted her name to not be tainted, but that also meant that she would need allies and friends. She had Persia and Assyria. Now to get back her Carthaginian friends and African territories. Once she discovered that Octavius had taken Thrace, that was definitely the last straw. She was from Thrace and those were her people that she let down. The Romans had expanded into Thrace while she threw herself a pity party in Egypt. But no more, she was going to take back what was hers.

Once Xena finished putting all the model ships on the map a smile crossed her lips and she twirled a dagger in her wrist. Gabrielle saw happiness and determination in Xena's eyes that she hadn't seen in over fifteen years. She was definitely not going to be defeated this time. "What will the world think when they see Persians working with Greeks?" Gabrielle asked with a small smirk.

"That Greece can ally with their worst enemy. That anything is..possible," she smiled and Samuel grinned, feeling quite proud to be able to contribute in this war effort.

Samuel bowed his head at Xena and she smirked at his manners. "It has been the most amazing experience to work with you, empress." He thanked her politely.

She waved her hand, "stop calling me empress. Xena is fine," she winked and his smile widened.

"You are more than ally to us now," Gabrielle chimed in and Samuel bowed his head graciously to her.

"Samuel!" Eve's voice carried outside of the office coming from down the long hallway. Samuel nervously smiled and Xena and Gabrielle looked to him incuriously. His name was called once more and he cringed, thinking how embarrassing it was to hear his name being called out like that especially in front of those two.

Xena grazed her fingers along the dagger, ignoring the cries of her daughter. She sighed, "you should probably answer your said wife," her eyes twinkled with mirth and Gabrielle stifled a laugh. Samuel's name echoed in the hallway once more and Xena smiled deviously. "She sounds urgent," she kept teasing.

Samuel grinned anxiously. "Can I be excused..." he said as his cheeks flushed.

Xena shrugged, "I'm not stopping you."

He nodded and took his leave, "thank you again emp –Xena..." he corrected and quickly left the office to find Eve as she kept calling out his name.

Gabrielle finally let out a much needed laugh and Xena smile as she cleaned her dagger. "She's being very...bossy towards him lately," her laughter died down and she saw the empress was rather amused, but did not admit so.

"It's all...out of my hands," she wiped the dagger on her pant leg with an eager smile. "But  _this_ ," she stabbed the dagger into the table onto the map, " _is_  in my control." She felt that stinging sensation travel up her arm again and she winced at the pain. On her left hand she wore a glove protecting her arm for the last few weeks. Still, she had been so preoccupied with the planning of this war that she put off this strange ailment to the side. She didn't need any more distractions in her life at the moment.

Gabrielle frowned, noticing Xena's discomfort. "Xena, what's wrong?" the empress shook her head and held onto her left arm, biting her bottom lip. "Don't lie to me," she came around to her and looked at her friend's paled face. "What's the matter with you?" she scanned Xena's body and noticed she was clutching onto her arm. "Let me see," she said and Xena shook her head again. Gabrielle slapped Xena's hand out of the way. "Let me see!" she commanded.

Xena relented and released her arm to Gabrielle. The blonde took off the glove on her left arm and gasped at what she saw before her eyes. A reddish brown color all along Xena's hand and arm. It looked like a really terrible burn, but Xena hadn't been in fire lately, unless Xena was having a mutilation party she didn't know about. She touched Xena's skin and the empress shot her a glare.

"By the gods Xena..." she covered her mouth looking at her arm. "What is this?" she looked into her eyes firmly. Shaking her head she didn't understand it at all. "When did this happen?" she became concerned and pulled up a chair to examine her arm.

Xena sighed and held the bridge of her nose. "Awhile ago..." she answered barely above a whisper.

Gabrielle frowned, not the least bit impressed. "How long is  _awhile_?" she was starting to become irritated at Xena and her secrets. She understood that Xena was tough and while she definitely was, she was hurt and didn't say anything and she was sure it was more than a few days.

"Three weeks..." Xena lamely smiled and saw the angry glare in those green eyes. She averted her gaze elsewhere, not daring to look into Gabrielle's eyes. Gabrielle sat stilly for a few moments then raised her hand and slapped Xena's unhurt arm not once, but twice. Xena's mouth gaped but she did not retaliate. She knew Gabrielle's frustration with her especially after that talk they had to not keep secrets from one another.

"Xena! I thought we talked about this!" she yelled and the empress slumped down into her chair, now feeling like a child. "You should've told me!" she sighed and sat back down. "Now...what is this from?"

Xena looked up confused and dazed. Shaking her head she answered, "I have no clue." She answered honestly and this time Gabrielle believed her. "It started on my hand and slowly spread to my arm. I don't understand it."

Gabrielle couldn't make sense of it either. "The elixir..." her mind snapped to. "It must be the cause of this," she looked to Xena's arm.

"You should become a fortune teller, Gabrielle," Ares appeared in the room and Xena snarled at him while Gabrielle stood up with a frown. She grabbed her Sais from her boots pointing them at the War God. He chuckled, "Gabby...please, we're all friends here." He said nonchalantly.

"Hardly," Gabrielle smirked mockingly at the god. Xena stood up then winced as the pain traveled even further up her arm and now was on her collar bone. She touched her neck and groaned, holding back the intensifying pain. Gabrielle looked back at her with concern then heard Ares clapping slowly. "What are you doing here?" she demanded an answer.

He shrugged, "I'm just checking in on you two. I heard a congratulations is in order," he focused in on Xena. "I just can't imagine you as a grandmother," he laughed and Xena wished he could kill him at the moment, though she was occupied with her own problems, almost becoming paralyzed from the left side of her torso.

"shut up Ares," Gabrielle spat and Ares frowned at her. She smiled wriggling her eyebrows and he rolled his eyes with a loud exasperated heave of a sigh.

Ares smiled at Xena who seemed incapacitated. "Just look at her..." he grinned, "she can't handle it."

Xena groaned and tried to get out of the chair and leaned on the wall, losing complete feeling in her left side. Her hand roamed the shelves to help her walk towards a mirror. She breathed in heavily, trying not to show any weakness whatsoever.

Gabrielle looked to her friend in need, but turned her attention back to the War God. "What do you mean by she 'can't handle it'?"

He clasped his hands together, lacing his fingers. "Oh you mean with all of your expertise you couldn't find the fine print in those scrolls about the elixir?" his smile was oh so mischievous and it was starting to concern Gabrielle.

There was a loud crash and Gabrielle snapped her head around to see Xena on her knees. She gasped and Ares chuckled lowly. Xena grabbed her sword and hoisted herself up off the floor, digging the tip into the floor holding half her weight on the blade. She groaned and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw the scarring had spread to her shoulder and onto her left side of her neck. Touching the affected areas she cringed as it burned her flesh.

"Ares!" Gabrielle pointed her Sais at the god. "Tell me what's going on right now!" she demanded.

He rolled his eyes. "You were always so annoying." He sighed, "well when I was in control of the elixir," he frowned deeply, thinking it probably would've worked if Xena had just taken it without any remorse and not used it guilt free like she did with Eve and Eris taunting her. "I didn't know the full strength of that magical potion but now...my sister has informed me of something so...intriguing." he grinned rubbing his hands together.

He flashed over to Xena and touched her cheek with his fingers. Xena's eyes widened and she elbowed him in the face. He knocked back a few steps and shook his head, wrinkling his nose, not happy that she just did that. "Now, now Xena..." he held his hands up and Xena turned around slowly lifting the blade at his torso. "You want to kill me?" he mocked. "Wish you could," he smirked.

"I'd rather you be tortured for awhile first," Xena snapped back.

His eyes widened, "kinky," he grinned and Gabrielle was growing impatient. "Anyway, that sickly looking rash on your skin...which is ruining your lovely complexion by the way," he jested.

" _Ares_!" Xena hissed and came closer towards him, forcing her left side of her body to walk with her in a steady limp.

"Look all I know is that it isn't exactly safe to use on mortals," he stated. "And since you used the entire elixir on yourself...selflessly," he griped. "You're not a mortal anymore..." he let the rest speak for itself.

Gabrielle was starting to feel her head pound. She was confused just as much as Xena was. "So what? She's an immortal now?" she saw Xena struggling to walk and then she fell to her knees, almost as if she were gasping for air. She came to her side and wrapped her arm around her forgetting about Ares. Looking up at the War God she frowned. "Are you going to help her?"

Ares chuckled, " _me_? Help Xena?" he shook his head, "no, no. She told me she doesn't need my help," he mocked Xena's proud astuteness.

Xena was going through all of the scenarios in her head at the moment. Ares had not helped at all in the last two decades she had known him. He always caused destruction wherever he went and this was no different. She would not succumb to his manipulative ways again. She had suffered too much but also gained a lot throughout her life. She wasn't going to throw it all away for a little help from the God of War, especially if he was talking to his sister, Goddess of Chaos. The two together would be inseparable. Xena could only imagine the damage those two would conjure up. This war being one of them. She was sure it was feeding their egos which was probably one of the reasons he showed up.

Gabrielle growled, "but this is all your fault, Ares!" she yelled. "You never fix your mistakes. At least Xena fixes hers!"

Xena felt relieved that Gabrielle was sticking up for her even after everything she had done. She still had her heart even in the worst of times. A shooting pain traveled in her ribs and went to her hip on her left side. She held her side and Gabrielle's arm held tighter onto her. Xena half smiled, though kept her gaze low from Ares.

"I didn't make her take the elixir, technically. She did this all on her own and now she must fix herself...by herself, as always. The lone wolf," he folded his arms shaking his head at his defeated warrior queen. "I have followed you for many years, Xena. I've watched you win and I've watched you fail. Still, you are resilient after all these years. How do you do it?" he mocked.

Xena half smiled weakly, "strength does not come from only one person, Ares." She held onto Gabrielle's hand tightly as the pain worsened. "Something you will never understand...as," she winced, "as a God."

"Power in numbers," he nodded his head. "Touching," he smiled and Gabrielle stood up leaving Xena on the floor, groaning in pain.

She shoved him against the wall and his eyes widened, a bit shocked at her manners. "Ares, don't you see she is in pain? She is being tortured and I find it hard to believe that you don't feel the least bit concerned about her," she eyed him with a smirk on her lips.

She wasn't wrong about that. He looked over at Xena as she was on the ground, holding in her pain as best as she could. He didn't want to see her suffer, Gabrielle was right, but at the same time, Xena did not desire his aid and he couldn't give it without her consent. He knew that trying to convince Xena was impossible by now. She had grown too old and wise for his tricks.

"Gabrielle, your speech is heartwarming, really," he nodded and pried her hands off of him and stepped to the side, not willing to hurt the blonde  _this_  time. "But she won't let me help her so what can I do?"

"You mean you are unwilling to help simply because you won't get anything in return?" Gabrielle shook her head in disgust. "If you truly cared about Xena then you would help selflessly but I can see that word is not in your vocabulary." Gabrielle came to Xena's side and wrapped her arm around her body hoisting her up off the floor. She groaned as she lifted half of Xena's body weight onto her small frame.

Ares folded his arms feeling insulted by the blonde. He never liked her and wondered why Xena kept her around. Though, she was a tough woman, he had to give her that. Her compassion overrides everything in her path and her path being Xena. "I will tell you this..." he spoke softly, more concerned about Xena now than he had shown earlier. "The more the war continues, her condition worsens."

Gabrielle's jaw dropped. "But it can't be stopped...it has only..." she peered up at Xena's pained face. "Just begun..." she finished leaving a sour note hanging.

The God of War was out of options. "If you need me you know where to find me," he disappeared and Xena felt as if she could finally breathe again. Gabrielle clung to her and then drug her over to a chair for her to sit in.

Gabrielle set her down carefully and Xena was starting to feel the nerves come back in her hand. She wiggled her fingers and a smile came to her face but then she saw the face staring back at her. Tears formed in Gabrielle's eyes and Xena creased her eyebrows, sitting upright, slowly gaining movement in her left arm after Ares had left.

"Don't cry," Xena touched Gabrielle's cheek gently and Gabrielle placed a hand over hers.

"Xena..." Gabrielle shook her head and covered her mouth, feeling a tear fall. Xena frowned and wiped the tears off her cheek. She stood over Xena barely able to look in her blue distraught eyes. "You're killing yourself," she said with an intense amount of emotion.

Xena weakly smile staring up at Gabrielle's glossy green eyes. "I'm not going anywhere I thought I told you this before?"

Gabrielle smiled and then wept more, not sure what to say. She felt Xena grab her hand and lace her fingers in between hers. She breathed slowly and wiped her eyes. She exhaled slowly and saw a smile on Xena's face. How could she smile at a time like this, she thought. "You can't do this to yourself anymore Xena..." she whispered. "You have so much to look forward to," she was starting to a bit more clear in the head now and her weeping subsided. "Think of Eve and her baby, Samuel and Solan." She shook her head wiping her eyes.

"You forgot Gabrielle," Xena said and saw the blonde's cheeks flush with color.

"You forgot yourself," Gabrielle retorted firmly and saw Xena's smile die off and her eyes wandered elsewhere.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Eve and her bright ideas lol.**

Chapter 17

 _"shadow won't you stay with me_  
nothing's ever what it seems  
are you wandering just like me  
within this sad reality"

Gabrielle was able to get Xena into her bed after struggling to support her weight on her small frame. Xena's condition remained the same since Ares left, though it didn't seem to spread anywhere else which was a good sign –well as good as they were ever going to get. Gabrielle took Xena's boots off and threw the large duvet over her. Xena felt a bit useless and that wasn't a feeling she was used to. She didn't like people fussing over her.

"Would you stop..." Xena hoarsely said and her companion looked to her with a knowing look.

"Not a chance," Gabrielle smiled and unbuttoned Xena's tunic exposing her shoulder, which looked pretty rough. Her neck was covered in the strange rash. She cringed just looking at it which didn't go unnoticed by Xena. She sat down on the bed, fixing Xena's hair and the empress slapped her hand away, feeling like a sick child. "I know this must hurt your pride," she teased. "I'm going to ask for help to get more information on this elixir."

Xena's eyes widened thinking of the consequences. "You aren't...going to ask Ares, are you?" she said in a soft voice.

Gabrielle shook her head, "no I'm going to ask Aphrodite," she quirked her mouth to the side, "I am surprised she hasn't come around lately...you know, because of Eve."

The empress nodded her head slowly as she thought of her daughter a smile came to her then the realization hit. She couldn't let anyone see her like this or there would be panic. Although it might be inevitable that Eve or Samuel eventually found out, but she would have to keep it secret for awhile. "She must not know about this Gabrielle."

The blonde understood and she squeezed Xena's hand tightly, "I will tell her that you are not to be disturbed, don't worry." She sighed looking at her friend's ailment. "I don't...know how to help you, Xena. Is it painful?"

Xena nodded her head, "nothing that I can't handle," she sneered and Gabrielle rolled her eyes, finding her friend's pride the center of attention was not what she wanted to hear at the moment.

"I'll find something for the pain. Don't move," she teased and kissed her hand before she left the room, closing the door behind her. Quickly rushing down the stairs she saw Eve sitting with Samuel. Together they were talking quietly among themselves and she saw his hand come to her face in a loving manner, although Eve did not appear to receive it very well. Gabrielle crept passed the two hoping they wouldn't notice her. She didn't really have time to deal with Eve and her disputes with Samuel or anyone else at the moment.

Once she was in the clear she exhaled heavily, dodging a bullet there until...

"Gabrielle!" Eve called out and the blonde groaned, halting in her step. So close yet so far. She turned around to see Eve running up to her and she tightly smiled.

"Yes, Eve? I'm a little busy right now so whatever you need to talk to me about can it wait?" she said instantly and Eve blinked, quite shocked that she didn't even get the chance to say anything. Gabrielle continued walking ahead without Eve's response.

The princess followed her lifting her gown careful not to trip, she hurried to catch up to Gabrielle. "Wait, please, Gabrielle!" she tugged on her arm and finally they stopped. Gabrielle saw the concern in her eyes then sighed, obviously this couldn't wait. This better be good, she thought. "I have some questions," she said in a soft voice.

"What kind of questions?" Gabrielle asked, her mood softening. She was almost expecting the princess to lash out in anger but instead she was being rather docile.

Eve's eyes wandered around trying to figure out the best way to word her question. "Well," she began, "I just want to know how it was to raise me as a baby. Was it...difficult?" her tone was more of concern than anything else.

Gabrielle smiled sensing some anxiety in the young princess. She pat her shoulder gently, "it wasn't difficult until you turned four," she teased and Eve sighed, not finding jokes very amusing right now. Gabrielle straightened herself out then lifted Eve's chin to stare into her blue eyes. "You'll be fine. You aren't alone," she grinned and pinched Eve's cheek.

The princess bit her bottom lip still feeling her nerves overcoming every sense in her body. "I need to talk to mother," she turned and Gabrielle's eyes widened in fear. She took off running and Gabrielle ran after her grabbing her arm pulling her back. Eve frowned, "Gabrielle, what are you –"

"On second thought, if you have any questions you can ask me. I was there with your mother the entire time. I practically lived through it all," she smiled nervously and Eve sensed some nervousness in Gabrielle as well, but it was odd to her.

"What's going on?" she raised an eyebrow, mirroring her own mother's famous expression of suspicion and doubt. Gabrielle knew that face all too well and Eve was quite good at copying her mother, it was almost scary.

She smiled, "nothing is wrong. Xena is sick right now so she's resting."

Eve's mouth gaped, "sick? But she was fine earlier," she folded her arms.

"She hasn't been feeling well for awhile but didn't tell anyone. I finally convinced her to go stay in her room. It's probably best that you stay away from her. I don't want you to get sick too," she lamely added hoping that Eve would buy her story but the look in her eyes was telling Gabrielle that she definitely wasn't buying it.

"Gabrielle..." Eve could only fear the worst. "What is going on?" she asked again, not believing her mother was ill. She was fine and she magically is in bed after she had just spoken to her this morning.

Gabrielle shook her head with a tight smile. "Nothing." She placed her hands on her hips nervously, giving herself away completely. Xena was always better at these things –you know, keeping things under wraps or in other words...lying.

Eve pursed her lips nodding slowly. "Alright Gabrielle," she smirked and cocked her head. "How 'bout you tell me what's going on and we can stop playing this little charade," she said calmly.

Gabrielle knew that Eve was quite pretentious at times and got her way when she wanted it most if not all the time. Though her attitude was slowly beginning to change from a spoiled princess to a mother, she still was the same when it came to finding things out. She sighed, "fine. Xena apparently has been having strange effects from that stupid elixir she took. She can't move her left side of her body at the moment so..." she saw the fear in Eve's eyes. "I put her in bed for now. I'm going to find a way to help her."

Eve couldn't believe what she was hearing and here Gabrielle was trying to hide this valuable information about her mother from her. "What about the campaign? I know she's been working on that with Samuel and you for weeks now. She can't fall behind!"

She tried to calm her down and grabbed onto her shoulders firmly, "I know," she calmly voiced. "I will make sure that she will not fall behind in her campaign against Octavius," she smiled. "Alright?"

Eve nodded, "can I see her?"

Gabrielle bit her lip and Eve rolled her eyes. "She told me she didn't want you to know." Eve groaned loudly and she sighed, "she doesn't want you to worry about her."

"Why not? She's always worrying about me," Eve folded her arms feeling more like a child right now. "I'm going to see her. If she asks why I came to see her, I'll tell her it wasn't your fault Gabrielle." She smiled then ran up the stairs before Gabrielle could stop her.

Well, she couldn't stop that disaster now. She had to contact Aphrodite and she wasn't sure she'd get an answer but she needed to go somewhere quiet to talk with the goddess. She stormed down the hall to the library. That place was always quiet and nobody ever went in there unless they had to. She rounded the corner and Samuel called out to her. She inwardly groaned and turned around with an irritated expression. "What?" she asked firmly.

The young Persian king seemed a bit taken aback by Gabrielle's hostility. "Forgive me Gabrielle but I have been looking for Xena. I have some news for her that she might want to hear," he had his hands behind his back and Gabrielle sighed, not really wanting to deal with this right now.

"Xena is not available right now. I will take whatever information you have and give it to her later," she put her hands up before he spoke, "but right now I have something I need to do. Give me an hour..." she smiled begging him and he didn't seem to mind. She thanked him then continued to the library.

Samuel sighed and looked around the empty hallway. He felt like he could get lost in this place if he truly wandered around. He had only been to certain areas of the palace and this wasn't one of them. He wondered where Gabrielle was going but he wasn't nosy like Eve to follow her and find out. He then frowned thinking of Eve. Where has that woman run off to? He had been looking for her too when she disappeared after he spoke to her.

* * *

Gabrielle entered the library and closed the giant doors behind her. She looked around to make sure nobody was inside and it was dead silence. Inwardly she wished she could stay in here for awhile to be away from everybody, but she had a job to do, a mission to fulfill. She huffed placing her hands on her hips looking up to the ceiling calling Aphrodite's name, hoping she'd appear before her. She called her name twice and still nothing.

She frowned, "it's  _urgent_..." she pressed. Then she heard a wisp sound and turned to see the goddess standing with a smile on her face.

Aphrodite grinned then came to hug her little blonde friend. "Gabrielle!" she squealed and Gabrielle felt her breath weaken as the goddess crushed her in the embrace. "I haven't spoken to you in forever!"

"Yeah...I've been a little busy," she tapped her shoulder. "I can't breathe..." she pleaded and Aphrodite pulled away seeing her friend's labored breathing was quite amusing.

The goddess still had that goofy grin on her face which always made Gabrielle uneasy. "Where's Evie?" she folded her arms. "I have been looking for an excuse to come visit her," she smugly smiled and Gabrielle sighed, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "I heard my baby is having a baby," she clamped her hands together and couldn't contain her excitement anymore.

Gabrielle softly smiled nodding her head. "Yes, there's that but Aphrodite –"

"And with that Persian cutie Samuel too. I knew they would get together," she sat down and began twirling her hair.

"Uh huh, I have no doubt. Listen Aphrodite I need to talk to you about something –"

She was interrupted yet again. "They grow up so fast don't they Gabrielle? I mean I feel like I just saw Eve as a baby and now  _this_!" she exhaled heavily feeling so old at the moment even though she was immortal, she liked very few mortals and Eve was special to her.

"Aphrodite!" Gabrielle yelled and finally caught the goddess' attention.

"Well jeez Gabrielle, what's the matter with you?" she scoffed.

Gabrielle pinched the bridge of her nose feeling her temper getting the best of her. She didn't have time to listen to the goddess' tangents about Eve and babies at the moment. There would be time for that later. "A lot of things," she mumbled. "Anyway, I need your help. You remember the elixir that Ares got from Erato awhile ago?"

Aphrodite nodded listening to her blonde friend. "Yeah what about it? I know Xena used the entire thing on herself. Ares lost his godhood as did I for awhile because of it."

That was interesting that she was affected too, Gabrielle noted. "Well you see, I have a problem. Xena is having some weird side effect from the elixir. She is basically paralyzed on one half of her body! I don't know what to do." She saw the goddess' eyes widen in shock. "I was wondering if you knew more about the elixir and you could possibly help me..." she pleaded. Aphrodite tapped her fingers on her knee and Gabrielle sighed. "Please Aphrodite, I can't ask Ares to help me he –"

"Ares?!" Aphrodite stuck her tongue out at the sound of her brother's name. "Why in Gaia's name would you ask  _him_  for help?" she cringed in disgust. "He's been getting on my nerves lately with this war going on. I figured Xena was involved," she rolled her eyes. "You'd think he would finally give up on her, amIright?" she chuckled then saw Gabrielle was not in a joking mood. "Alright Gabrielle," she cleared her throat then stood up to talk to her. "I know more about the elixir than Ares does. After all I am good friends with Erato. You can't trust those muses you know," she smiled.

Gabrielle was at a loss for words. "What do we do?"

Aphrodite quirked her mouth to the side, "well first off, Xena isn't really  _Xena_  anymore...if that makes sense," she raised her eyebrow hoping Gabrielle would get the gist. "She's different now," she explained further and Gabrielle listened intently. "You see Gabrielle, she used the elixir with greed in mind at first. Then later she used it selflessly to save you and Eve. Eris is too stupid to understand the effects of the elixir. Xena should have killed her when she had the chance."

Gabrielle stopped her right there. "Wait a minute. She could have killed Eris? How? Isn't she a god?" she questioned feeling very confused all of a sudden.

Aphrodite nodded her head, "right she is, but Xena technically...can kill gods right now which is probably what all the commotion was up on Mount Olympus the other day..." she frowned now realizing how ignorant she truly was and was too involved with herself to realize the chaos down below on earth.

"So let me get this straight. Xena can kill gods as of right now?" she wanted to clarify and the goddess nodded her head. "But Ares said that because of the war that her condition will worsen as the war progresses..."

Aphrodite erupted in laughter and Gabrielle blinked, shocked at her reaction. "Ares is dumb, Gabrielle! He's scared of Xena! The war has nothing to do with what happened to Xena," she grinned and that took some weight off of Gabrielle's shoulders.

"Thank the gods," she breathed out feeling like the brick on her chest had been lifted. "But that still doesn't explain the weird rash on her body or the paralysis..." she frowned, not getting anywhere just yet.

The goddess nodded seeing Gabrielle's point. "The elixir feeds off emotions of the person. It seems that Xena has some inner issues to resolve before she can fully accept herself."

All of this god/immortal stuff was really complicated. Gabrielle felt her head begin to throb from it all. But then the question came to her. What could Xena be so conflicted with even after all these years? Was she dissatisfied with her empire? Her family? The way her life was? Gabrielle couldn't understand what else Xena could feel angst over after everything she went through even when she was younger. Xena had talked about her past with Gabrielle on several occasions but there must be something still bothering her.

"What left is there to resolve?" Gabrielle truly didn't understand at all. Even now Xena was a mystery to her.

Aphrodite shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know Gabrielle, but whatever it is Xena can't get passed it. I don't think you can fix that for her," she tisked. "Sorry."

"So what you're telling me is that this is all up to Xena? Only she can fix this problem?" Gabrielle asked quite concerned.

The goddess nodded. "Correct." She saw the puzzled look in her eyes. "Cheer up kid," she nudged Gabrielle in her arm and the short blonde grinned at the goddess. "Everything always works out in the end, right?" she winked. Gabrielle could agree to that. Somehow through all the chaos everything eventually worked out in the end despite a few bumps in the road. "Oh by the way Eris has had her eye on Eve since she found out about the baby," she frowned. "I will make sure she doesn't come near her. I've been neglecting Eve," she sighed.

Gabrielle didn't need to hear that. Perhaps the goddess should have kept that to herself. That was one more thing to worry about. "She's not going to hurt her is she?" she frowned.

Aphrodite sensed some motherly instincts shine in Gabrielle and smiled. "Of course not Gabby, but you should know Eve's baby is special," she winked.

"What does that mean?" Gabrielle didn't like the sound of that at all.

The goddess grinned then kissed Gabrielle on the cheek. "Eve is a special girl, Gabrielle." She then disappeared leaving Gabrielle very confused, more than she was before she spoke with her.

She slapped her forehead thinking what a mess this all was, but she had to remain calm. Someone had to. Even though she talked to Aphrodite she answered some much needed questions but now the real answer was Xena. Xena was the problem of her problems –what an oxymoron, she thought.

* * *

Eve had crept into her mother's room without her consent of course and against Gabrielle's wishes. She closed the door behind her and could hear her mother shifting in her bed. She rounded the corner to see her mother in bed and she grinned waving at her. Xena sighed, barely able to move, she couldn't exactly tell her daughter to leave now.

"I came up here on my own will so don't get mad at Gabrielle," she immediately stated and smiled. Xena didn't say anything instead she just stared at her. Eve came to the side of the bed and sat down looking at her mother. She had some strange rash on her neck and arm. She cringed just looking at it, it seemed painful but she didn't want to ask. She had seen a lot of strange things happen to her mother over the year and this didn't seem too surprising.

Xena reached for Eve's hand tapping her fingers trying to get a grip on her hand. "How do you feel?" she said in a hoarse voice.

Eve grinned weakly, "I'm fine but I was worried about you. How do  _you_  feel, mother?" she looked into her blue eyes and they were calm yet pained she could tell.

"Not too bad," Xena winked and her daughter smiled, amused at her everlasting light mood in the darkest times was something truly admirable and sought after by most.

"Mother I don't know how you get yourself into these situations honestly," Eve scooted closer to her and Xena had no response. "One day you will have peace, I'll make sure of it."

Xena didn't really like the sound of that. She heard some determination in Eve's words. "I guess I am just unlucky," she said with a sly smile. She sat up straighter, leaning against the headboard and Eve sat patiently staring at her. "I wish you would stop looking at me like that."

Eve sighed, "sorry. I just wish I could help you but I can't," she then began thinking of a plan, a very good plan. "Or maybe I can..." she tapped her chin and Xena frowned, unsure what she meant by that. Eve leaned in and kissed her mother's cheek. "I have to go, but I will come see you later mother." She grinned hopping off the bed to run to the door.

Xena leaned forward, "Eve!" she called out and her daughter turned around. "Don't do something foolish." She said softly, her voice filled with concern for her daughter.

Eve grinned, "don't worry mother. I know what I'm doing." She then quickly left the bedroom to find Gabrielle and Samuel. Xena groaned and hit her head against the headboard. She didn't even want to know what Eve had planned in that little devious mind of hers.

* * *

Eve ran down the stairs and saw Gabrielle waltzing through the hallway appearing to be less stressed than when she saw her earlier. "Gabrielle!" she ran to her and Gabrielle smiled seeing her grinning face coming towards her. Eve truly had a gorgeous aura about her. She was definitely special just as Aphrodite said. She stopped and saw Gabrielle was just staring at her and she nervously chuckled. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Gabrielle shook her head, "no reason. I've just realized what a beautiful young lady you have come to be," she grinned making Eve blush.

"You sound like mother lately. I wish she'd stop fussing over me," she sighed but then she also just came from seeing her mother and she wasn't exactly looking too good.

"Allow her to fuss over you Eve. She's the only mother you have," Gabrielle said softly.

Eve grinned, "no she's not. I have two mothers. I wouldn't be the person I am today without you Gabrielle."

Listening to those kind words made Gabrielle warm inside. She had always thought Eve was like her own daughter as much as she was Xena's, but hardly ever thought anyone recognized that.

"I came to find you," Eve took Gabrielle's hand into her own then looked around with a frown. "Where is Samuel?"

"Right here," he appeared and smiled warmly at both women. Gabrielle had realized she had been rather curt with him earlier because of the situation. She hoped he wouldn't be offended. Eve's face lit up as soon as she saw him and Gabrielle smirked, feeling awkward standing here. "What a coincidence. I was looking for the both of you!" he grinned.

Gabrielle turned to him, "I'm sorry about earlier Samuel. I had something on my mind. You mentioned you wanted to tell me something...?"

Eve frowned, "is something wrong? I want to know too," she eagerly said.

Samuel looked to his fiancée with a worried expression. "It's about the campaign," he said and it was dead silent and Eve blinked.

"I want to help," she said instantly and both Gabrielle and Samuel looked surprised.

The blonde shook her head, "nope. No way." She waved her hands, "I understand your desire to help Eve but your mother would probably kill me,  _literally_." She said firmly.

Samuel nodded, "I have to agree with Gabrielle on that. Your mother may like me, but she'd probably kill me too." He took Eve's hand squeezing it tightly, "I told your mother that I would protect you."

Eve frowned feeling insulted. "I don't need your protection!" she snapped back. She turned to Gabrielle, "I want to take my mother's place as overseer of the campaign until she...recovers," she lifted her chin folding her arms defiantly.

Gabrielle groaned not feeling like she wanted to argue with the princess. She was so obstinate sometimes and that was definitely a trait she got from Xena. "Eve...that's not going to happen."

"Gabrielle, I won't get in the way I promise," she begged.

"That's what Xena said in the first war with Octavius and Phraates when she was pregnant with you," Gabrielle frowned and Samuel blinked.

"She went to war while she was  _pregnant_?" his voice filled with shock. "God in heaven," he mumbled to himself. He was now seeing that Xena was crazy or perhaps his father's stories were true about the empress. He remembered that war, he was very young, but his father was away a lot and he was with his mother during that time.

Eve huffed, "that's not the point, Gabrielle. I won't go in the battlefield but I want to be a part of this. My mother doesn't have to know."

Gabrielle sighed, "you know I'm going to have to tell her eventually. She'll figure it out."

"I'll tell her myself," Eve protested.

Samuel's eyes widened, "do you wish to give your mother a heart attack, Eve?" he raised his eyebrows in fear for her. He could only imagine what Xena would say to this proposal. "The warzone is not for you, Eve, not now." He shook his head.

Eve folded her arms feeling like she was working against these two. "By royal decree if the empress is not fit to perform her duties then the next in line would be me. I can take her place. It's a written law," she smiled slyly, "a law that  _you_  wrote, Gabrielle." Her eyes sparkled.

Samuel began to wonder how "unavailable" Xena really was now since Eve wanted to take her place. He didn't want to pry so he remained quiet. Gabrielle on the other hand looked absolutely furious and displaced. He felt the tension between the two women rising as his eyes danced back and forth at them both.

It looked like Eve had caught Gabrielle in her own game using the law on her side.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Xena must remind herself that she is a mother before an empress. Enjoy ;)**

Chapter 18

_"King suicide you won't wither on your throne. Let it be known tonight I am out for blood, call the bluff on your heart ,I the queen take the lead and foresee stakes decline 'cause the wild card is...in the game on her way ready to crush and scorn"_

_Rome_

Octavius sat in his headquarters going over some documents and had just received word from his officials in Anatolia, Carthage and Assyria. Opening the letter he read through it and immediately became irate. He yelled then threw all the parchments on his desk onto the ground then smashed a vase onto the floor. Breathing heavily his guards opened the doors to see what the commotion was. They blinked at their emperor who appeared to be very irritated and angry over something.

"Sir...is everything alright?" one of the young guards asked.

The hot headed emperor let out a loud cry then huffed, rubbing his face. He plopped down into his chair and tapped his fingers on the armrest. "She has got to go." He said defiantly. He slammed his fist on the desk and groaned. "Why doesn't she just die already! The woman is a cockroach!" he furrowed his brows and his guards remained utterly confused at his sudden outbursts.

His scribe walked in to see his master a bit flustered and quite angered. He figured he had seen the letter by now and that was the reason for his foul mood. "Sir, Xena's ships are docked at each of our territories."

Octavius gritted his teeth. "I'm aware..." he mumbled angrily. He sighed staring up at his terrified scribe. "How does she have enough of men and ships to surround me like this!" he demanded an answer.

The scribe cleared his throat, lowering his gaze. "It appears that Xena has allied with the Persian King, sir. He is aiding in the war effort."

The emperor began laughing, "does she really want to go down that road again?" he chuckled some more then ran his hand over his face calming his nerves. "How could she entice that Persian to join her? She is old enough to be his mother!" he smiled just thinking of it all. "So we are war with not just Xena and her Greek empire but the Persians too..." he rubbed his chin pensively in deep thought. "I will make note of that." He shook his head at the thought of it all. Persians and Greeks –a team once again, surely to fail in the end like it did before. "The young king forgets that she is the snake that killed his father," he sighed spinning a paperweight on his desk mindlessly. "Interesting." He clicked his tongue against his cheek. "Xena is about to repeat history once again. Fifteen years later and she is still trying to get rid of me," he chuckled, "well," his eyes widened, "that's not going to happen."

He pointed to his scribe and told the guards to close the doors for privacy. Octavius stood up and walked around to the front of his desk folding his arms arrogantly. "I want you to send a message to Xena." The scribe sat down at the emperor's desk and dipped the quill into the ink, ready to begin writing. Octavius paced around the room slowly thinking of the best words for the Greek Empress.

"Empress," he began, "I wish to engage in a meeting with you in Rome so we may discuss...a deal," he grinned and the scribe rapidly wrote down everything he said from then on out.

* * *

Xena wished to be alone for the next couple of days, she didn't even wish to see Gabrielle. Staying in her bed she realized how useless and worthless she felt at this moment. Opening her eyes to the bright sun shining in her room she wished she could get up and close the curtains and remain in the darkness. She groaned and sat up in bed. Looking down at her left arm she noticed the strange rash had not disappeared. She wiggled her fingers and she smirked, finally getting some feeling back in her hand.

She swung her body to the side of the bed, lifting her left leg to the edge of the bed. She pulled her arm close to her and looked around to see if she could use something to help her stand up. Her sword she saw was on the table near her bed. It was so close but to her it was so far. Sighing she stood up allowing her entire weight to lean to her right, she hobbled over to the table and grabbed her sword. Her chakram was hanging up on the wall next to her armor. Frowning she used the sword as her cane for now, which she didn't like. It was dulling the blade as she dug it into the floor.

Slowly crutching over to her vanity she sat down and looked in front of her mirror, wrapping the robe around her body tightly. She pulled the sash tightly around her slender waist. Staring at herself she touched her neck and exposed her shoulder to see the damage that had been done. She cringed just looking at herself.

Touching her hair she saw the silvery white streak still present, a very thick streak making it so noticeable. Staring at her reflection she wanted to chastise herself. She was falling apart from within and it was coming out to show her true demise. Her eyes were a dull blue, not vibrant as they usually were. Leaning in closer to the mirror she narrowed her eyes as she glared at her reflection. She almost expected her reflection to say something to her, of how stupid she could be, but she pulled away.

She began to dig in the drawer to find an herb to put on her skin. Gabrielle had brought it to her the night before and it had helped the stinging sensation some but it just was a strange pain, not a curable one, Xena knew that. She knew this was not an injury that could be fixed by herbs, but just to alleviate some of Gabrielle's concerns she used the herbal mixture anyway.

Groaning she kept looking for the mixture in her drawer and she heard a tapping noise. Lifting her head she scanned the room but saw nobody in her room. Raising an eyebrow she thought it must have been a bird near her window, she looked down in the drawer trying to find the bowl of herbs.

A few moments later she heard tapping again and she looked up and curiously looked into the mirror, but saw her same old reflection staring back at her. She snapped her head around and expected someone to be standing behind her but there was nothing. Somehow she felt like someone was watching her and she didn't know what or who it was.

A breathy exhale was heard and Xena now felt like someone was definitely in her room. She picked her sword up and wished she could move her body as she could before. It would make self defense a lot easier. The subtle whisper came closer to her ear and she turned, suspicious she wanted to ask who was in her room, but felt that would be awkward, especially if nobody was in there with her.

Xena looked at the mirror and leaned in closely, finally finding the herbal mixture that was hiding in the back of the drawer. She spread it on her neck and shoulder, blending it into her skin. She winced at the painful touch of her fingertips grazing her skin. As soon as she was finished she air dried her shoulder and set the bowl back into the drawer.

" _Xena_..." the whispering eerie voice came back and Xena looked around. She felt like she was going a bit insane. Were the voices real or were they all in her head? She couldn't make out for sure but being cooped up in her room for a couple of days probably wasn't helping. One thing she knew for sure was her sanity. Sure she acted crazy sometimes but she wasn't crazy in the head, she knew that, despite what some people might say.

The tapping noise came back and she turned to look at the mirror. The tapping noise coming from the mirror. Now she was questioning her sanity. She reached forward and touched the mirror but it was just a piece of glass, just as she thought. Frowning she grabbed the sword to hoist herself up she heard her name being whispered again and she turned back to the mirror at the vanity but nobody was there.

Feeling an eerie presence near her she heard a knock come to her door and she jumped back, a bit startled. Gabrielle came into the room and she smiled at her softly, rubbing her forehead nervously.

Gabrielle closed the door and was holding a dress in her arms. "Xena, you're up..." she raised an eyebrow, "that's good to see. How are you feeling?"

Xena waved her off, "fine, I'm fine. Gabrielle," she looked around and came up to her, "did anyone come up to my room this morning?"

The blonde frowned. She gave specific instructions not to let anyone come near Xena's bedroom unless it was a dire emergency. "No Xena. Nobody has been up here." She saw the strange look in her blue eyes and suddenly felt like Xena wasn't admitting something. "Why do you ask?"

Xena turned and still felt the weird presence in her room and it definitely wasn't Gabrielle. "I guess I am just crazy," she smirked.

Gabrielle smirked, not thinking anything of it. Xena noticed the gown in her arms and she pointed her head at it. "What's that you have?" Xena asked.

"It's for you!" Gabrielle showed the dress to her friend and Xena smiled at her. "I decided to go into the city yesterday and saw this and thought you might like it..." she saw Xena's bright smile. The gown was a dark maroon, not similar to her other gowns, simple but yet beautiful at the same time. Donned with a black sash and flowing sleeves.

"You didn't have to do that Gabrielle, although I will gladly take the dress..." she smiled smugly, "it is quite beautiful."

"You look good in anything," Gabrielle winked and Xena touched the dress, almost instantly feeling better that someone cared about her even when she was at her worst and that person would always be Gabrielle. She felt some feeling come back in her arm and she moved her wrist slowly.

Gabrielle noticed Xena moving her hand and her fingers slowly. "You can move your hand! That is great," she grinned anxiously. She had yet to tell Xena what Aphrodite told her. She wanted to see if Xena's condition would resolve itself since Xena was the only one that could fix herself, even though Gabrielle had no idea what was going on in that mind of hers. Whatever it was, it was still bothering Xena and affected her so much that it came out into the open. Her true colors coming forth, Gabrielle presumed. Xena had a dark side to her yes, but Gabrielle thought she had gotten rid of that. She didn't want Xena to succumb to that side of herself again, but as the years went by she still saw some of that side come out in her especially if trouble arose. Her dark side would probably never leave her and somehow Gabrielle thought Xena would be lost without it. she needed both halves to make her whole. Right now, she was falling apart inside and had no idea how to help her. But Aphrodite said only Xena can help herself, whatever that meant.

Xena took the dress off her hands and wanted to change into immediately. She didn't want to sit in bed all day and if she had to then at least she would do it wearing something special. "Any news from Octavius?" she said as she was behind a screen slowly changing into the gown. She felt her arm gain movement again and she smiled.

Gabrielle sat on her bed waiting patiently. "No not yet. If I receive news I'll make sure you're the first to know," she called out.

"And how is Eve?" she asked in a soft voice. She hadn't returned to her room like she said would a couple of days ago. She knew she was probably busy but she hoped while she was out of commission at the moment, that Samuel would be working with Gabrielle.

The blonde rolled her eyes. She hadn't told Xena about her daughter's brilliant idea to be a stand in empress. So far Samuel and Eve were going over tactical battle plans if the Romans planned to attack Greece. Gabrielle hated to admit it but Eve was very good at strategic battlefield planning. She had an idea for every side of the Mediterranean if they were attacked. It seemed that on her missions in Qin that she had picked up a few tricks along the way.

"She's feeling a lot better now," Gabrielle answered as she slapped her forehead thinking of how to tell Xena, but she definitely wasn't going to spoil her good mood now.

Xena frowned behind the screen, "she was ill?" she poked her head out and saw Gabrielle with a blank face.

The blonde grinned, "well she  _was_ , yesterday." She saw the concern in Xena's eyes. "She has discovered that fish is not her friend," she smirked.

The empress grinned and finished putting on the dress finally. She tied the sash around her waist. "She is going to find out a lot of foods will become her enemies soon," she stepped out and brushed the dress down with her free hand. Gabrielle stood up and her eyes blinked, seeing the dress on Xena was even more beautiful than she imagined. She knew she had picked the right one yesterday.

"Wow," Gabrielle was speechless. "I knew I made the right choice," she folded her arms and felt quite proud of herself. Xena hobbled over to the full length mirror and turned to the side admiring the new gown.

"You should pick out my clothes from now on Gabrielle," Xena teased. She looked to her and kissed Gabrielle's cheek. "Thank you," she looked to her skin in the mirror and the rash had somewhat disappeared on her neck which was a good sign. She couldn't explain that but she wasn't going to question it.

A knock came to the door and Gabrielle turned to the door. She rushed to it and opened the door to see one of Xena's soldiers. He bowed his head to her, feeling rather intrusive that he was just a few feet away from Xena. "Gabrielle," he said firmly and saw the empress staring into the mirror, completely ignoring his presence. He stammered, "the Princess is asking for you."

Xena heard the young man and she turned her head now her full attention on him. Gabrielle nodded, "I'll be there," she whispered. Turning to Xena she smiled, "Eve is asking for me."

The empress nodded, "I heard. Is something wrong?" she desperately wanted to go downstairs to see for herself but she knew Gabrielle would protest.

She shrugged, "who knows. I'm sure it's nothing. Let me handle her and I'll be back later?" she turned to leave.

"I will come join you all later. I want to get out of this room, it's driving me nuts. Literally," she smiled and Gabrielle nodded, feeling a bit nervous about that. She closed the door and Xena continued to look at her reflection and ran her fingers through her long locks. She took a step closer to fix the V-neck collar of the dress and the longer she stared at herself she felt her reflection staring back at her.

She looked into her eyes and then saw her reflection wink at her. She blinked and stepped back, unsure if her mind was playing tricks on her or not. She waved her hand and the reflection was normal. She moved away from the mirror then came back to see her reflection. Placing her hand on the glass she tapped on it. "That's it, I'm going crazy," she whispered to herself.

Grabbing her brush she quickly ran it through her hair and looked at herself one last time in the mirror to make sure she appeared presentable enough. She smiled admiring the gown Gabrielle got for her. She grabbed her sword and cloak, wrapping it around her. She opened the door taking in a deep breath she felt somewhat apprehensive about leaving her room. She had been stuck in there for a few days and it was enough to make her seem like she was going crazy. She wouldn't allow that to happen.

Closing the door behind her the same tapping noise came back. Within the mirror Xena's reflection tapped on the glass and she frowned, pressing her hands on the glass, feeling trapped and suffocated inside the mirror. The mirror image hit the glass and clenched her teeth, wishing to be free from her hold. Letting out a loud groan she hit the glass once more and realized she was forever going to be trapped in this world unless someone let her out –that person being Xena, of course.

* * *

Gabrielle walked into Xena's office and it was so strange to see Eve standing there looking over maps and documents instead of her mother. "You wanted to see me?" she interrupted and Eve looked up to see Gabrielle and she nodded, gesturing to her to close the doors.

"We have a problem," Eve said seriously. She pulled out a letter and it had already been opened. She presented it to her. Gabrielle walked forward cautiously taking the letter from the princess. "The Romans have Allat and Solan captured in Assyria. I fear they will be killed unless we do something."

Gabrielle read over the letter and covered her mouth, shaking her head. "By the gods," she whispered. "Eve, your mother has to know about this," she set the letter down back onto the desk.

Eve frowned, "no I don't want her to worry. If she finds out Solan is in trouble she'll want to go there and chop some heads off," she shook her head, "no we will handle this a different way." She circled a few spots on the map of Assyria she had. She pointed to the mountains, "we can have our men attack them through the mountains. The Romans would never suspect an attack from there."

"That seems risky...but it could work." She groaned. What am I thinking?! She chastised herself. "Okay no, just no Eve. Xena has to know about this. If she finds out about this too late then she will go berserk."

The princess folded her arms, "I have more news," she pulled out another letter and handed it to Gabrielle. "Octavius wants to see mother in Rome as soon as possible."

This certainly wasn't good news at all. Gabrielle had just seen Xena and she was starting to recover, now this pops up. She knew it was coming but she didn't know when that would be. It was too soon and Xena was dealing with too much right now. She really did appreciate Eve stepping up to help but if Xena ever found out she let Eve do this, she will surely have a royal fit, quite literally.

"Well, she can't go...not right now," Gabrielle sighed and set the letter down. She sat down in the chair and tapped her cheek thinking of a better solution.

Eve came to Gabrielle and knelt down in front of her. "Let me go see Octavius in mother's place. I'm just as good of a face as she is. He will take me seriously."

Gabrielle looked into Eve's promising blue eyes then began to laugh, throwing the princess for a loop. "Take you seriously? Eve...he doesn't even know what you look like! He will not take you seriously even if you say you're Xena's daughter. In fact, he definitely won't. he doesn't even take Xena seriously and it's been how many years?" she shook her head.

The princess stood up folding her arms, "you have any better ideas then?" she retorted, feeling a bit insulted.

* * *

Xena finally made it down the stairs after what seemed like a lifetime. She hadn't felt so slow in her life until now. She saw Samuel notice her and he smiled making his way to her. He extended his hand for her and she took a glance at it then kindly grabbed his hand, feeling as if her pride was drifting away from her. She needed to recognize when she needed help as Gabrielle told her countless times over and over again for many years.

"Xena, I see you are feeling better," the kind young king smiled. Xena nodded her head and stepped off the last step tightly grabbing the young man's hand. He raised an eyebrow but refrained from saying anything.

"Thank you Samuel," she said in a rather hushed voice. It wasn't often that she had others help her especially men. She really did come to like Samuel, he was very kind and smart. He was very tactical when it came to war strategy. It was hard to believe that he was Phraates' son. "I hope Eve has not been demanding," she half rolled her eyes.

The Persian grinned, "I learn when to stay out of her way. She is very persistent in getting what she wants when she wants it."

"Don't I know it," Xena looked around, "where is she anyway?" she turned to the king as they walked together.

Samuel wasn't sure how to answer that. He was sure Xena didn't know about Eve and her plans. "I don't know. We were in my room and –" he saw Xena give him a subtle glare and he cleared his throat changing topics, "she left in a hurry," he saved himself with an awkward grin. Xena smirked at him. Truthfully, she liked to make him feel uncomfortable at times just for her own amusement.

"Well I'm sure she hasn't gone far. This palace isn't that big," she continued to walk.

Samuel blinked.  _Not that big? Is she blind?_  He sighed and walked alongside her remaining silent. He felt a bit nervous being so close to her. Sure, he had gotten used to being around her but that was different. They were allies working together against their opponent. But when it was just Samuel and Xena, not Empress and King, it was awkward for him. She was more than just an ally to him which could complicate things.

"Xena, may I ask you something?" he was feeling brave. Xena turned her head to him and nodded silently. He breathed in slowly and nervously spoke with his hands. "I would like it if my family could come here for the wedding." Xena didn't think that was a problem at all. He had more. "Also I want to invite my mother. She's been on sabbatical for awhile now in Baghdad. I haven't seen her in years."

Xena could tell that Samuel really longed and missed his mother. She figured it was refreshing to be around a family. She could empathize with that. "It sounds like you miss your mother," she grinned.

Samuel nodded his head profusely. "Yes I do. My mother would love Eve and will be very excited to know that she will be a grandmother for the sixth time..." he exhaled deeply. His elder brother had five girls and his other brother had yet to marry. He was too wild and flamboyant to marry just one girl. No he wanted all the women, all at the same time.

"Sixth time huh?" Xena grinned, feeling that she was a bit behind. "Have you not contacted your mother?"

He shook his head, "she wanted to be left alone. She said she was trying to find inner peace," he shrugged. "You must understand something Xena," he touched her shoulder and she looked at his hand unsurely. "My father had many wives. My brothers are not from my mother, but two other women. My mother is the oldest out of them all, though she had me years later my brothers were born. She was my father's only wife for a long time. She was dare I say..happy or rather relieved that you killed him. She was tired of his tyranny and mistreatment of her." He sighed. "I am sure she would love it here. She was raised in Corinth and some time in Athens before she moved to Persia."

Xena felt like the boy was asking for help and it a very regal way, it was almost pitiful to her. "Should I send someone to find your mother in Baghdad? I am sure she would not refuse an invitation from the Empress of Greece," she slyly smiled.

Samuel's smile brightened up his entire face. "Well you don't have to do that but it would certainly get her attention instead of me sending a message."

"I will send someone as soon as I get around to it," she walked slowly and Samuel lend his hand to her. She sighed then took his hand graciously, feeling a bit embarrassed that she needed help especially from him.

* * *

After some time Xena and Samuel made it to her office and the doors were opened. Xena frowned as soon as she saw Eve sitting at her desk with Gabrielle behind her. They seemed to be writing a letter of some sorts. She sauntered in and waved her hand to the guards to close the doors.

Samuel stepped in behind Xena and looked fearful for Eve. Xena stepped forward and Eve stood up, looking into those icy blue eyes.

"Eve..." Xena said calmly, "what are you doing at my desk?"

The princess nervously brushed her hands down her dress and Gabrielle looked away, not daring to face Xena. "Gabrielle and I...were just writing a letter."

Xena nodded, "I see that, but why?" she turned to the blonde. "Gabrielle?" she wanted an explanation.

"A letter to Octavius, Xena," Gabrielle finally said. Xena walked toward her desk. She was not expecting her to come in here especially so soon.

Xena snatched the parchment off the desk and began reading it. Her eyes widened and Eve never felt so scared in her life. Suddenly she was feeling ill. She stepped away from the desk in fear of her mother. Xena crinkled the parchment in her hand and she threw it onto the floor. "What is going on in here?" her voice rose as did her temper. "Writing letters without my permission?"

Eve shook her head, "no mother, I was trying to help you."

"Who asked  _you_  to help?" Xena growled. Gabrielle folded her arms, fully expecting a reaction like this. Samuel backed away to the doors. Eve looked to him then to her mother's irate face. "I thought I told you that if anything important came up that I was to be told," she snapped her head to Gabrielle.

The blonde frowned, "I was going to tell you Xena. The letter just arrived today. I always write letters for you," she snapped back. Xena nodded her head.

The empress pointed to her daughter, "and you! You are not authorized to..." she saw the fear in her daughter's eyes and realized she had switched to empress mode and had forgotten that she was her daughter for a moment. Her eyes softened and she sighed resting her hand on her hip. "Just leave please," she said nicely. Eve lowered her eyes and brushed passed her mother, she touched her arm and Xena averted her gaze.

"Mother..." Eve whispered and Xena turned her head away from her. Eve's shoulder touched hers as she walked by and went to Samuel. They left the room and Xena rubbed her forehead, feeling her temper getting the best of her.

She turned to Gabrielle, "you allowed her to take my place as empress?" she frowned.

Gabrielle sighed, "Xena I didn't allow her to do anything. You know how she is!"

"Oh I know, but you could have told her no. You knew that I wouldn't be stuck in that room forever. Eve is not to be exposed to this war like I was so many times before." She folded her arms and pursed her lips.

"She was trying to help Xena. You are too harsh on her sometimes," Gabrielle's voice softened. Xena looked into her eyes with a knowing yet blank face. "You are. She may be your daughter but she's not a child anymore. I think she is more than capable of leading an army." Xena's eyes widened at these words. She was defending this awful idea. "She had great ideas for an attack plan in Assyria." She pulled out the maps and pointed to the areas that Eve circled.

Xena stepped forward examining the map. She still didn't like that the two went behind her back, but she couldn't deny that she was impressed. Gabrielle then pulled out the two letters that they received, one about the meeting with Octavius and the one of Allat and Solan.

"And these came today. Eve read them already." She knew Xena would not bother to read them. "The Romans captured Allat and Solan. It seems they rebelled against them. Eve believes the Romans will kill them if we don't attack."

Xena's eyes widened and suddenly her heart dropped. She didn't want her son to die, he had done so well in his life as a warrior, of course against her wishes, she couldn't stop him. He was too old to be bossed around by his mother, but she still had Eve and would keep her close.

Suddenly she felt like she had just made a really terrible mistake. "I need to find Eve," she turned slowly and winced as her leg tightened. The pain had come back though she was able to walk steadily for now. Gabrielle watched her make her way to the door and felt sorry for her.

"What are you going to tell her?" Gabrielle curiously asked.

Xena stopped before she opened the doors. "I'm going to...apologize."

Gabrielle smirked, seeing that Xena had forgotten she was a mother first to Eve before a ruler. It was a rare sight to see an apology come from Xena's mouth but whenever she did apologize, she was very sincere.

* * *

Xena exited the room and entered the grand hallway. She could think of a few places Eve would be. Either her room, the library or she was off somewhere with Samuel. Although seeing as though Samuel was camping out in the hallway alone it seemed that option was out the door.

She walked up to him and he straightened as soon as he saw her. "Where is Eve?" she asked. The young king felt a bit fearful to speak to her and she sighed. "Just tell me where she is..." she pleaded.

"She's in the atrium outside. I tried to go with her but she said she wanted to be alone," he shrugged. Xena nodded, thinking that was quite odd that she would be there. She didn't usually sulk in that place. She made her way outside as Samuel watched her leave he let out a sigh of relief.

Eve sat on a bench as she sharpened a blade keeping her mind off of the situation. Xena walked outside slowly and saw her daughter sitting by herself in the middle of the atrium. She walked towards her and stood in front of her. Eve saw her mother's dress and looked up to her and Xena stared down at her.

"May I sit with you?" Xena asked and Eve scooted over on the bench. Xena sat down beside her and looked around at the beautiful flowers that had just bloomed. Summer was always nice here despite it being so hot in the afternoons. Eve continued sharpening the blade until Xena placed her hand over the sword. Xena slowly grabbed the blade and set it aside by her hip and Eve suddenly felt awkward, holding a stone in her hand. She didn't want to look at her mother, feeling embarrassed.

"Eve, I want to...apologize to you," she said and Eve lifted her head, shocked at her mother. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Eve looked away still silent, not ready to respond.

Xena sighed definitely feeling the cold shoulder treatment. "Your plans are very good," she smiled and Eve looked at her with surprise. "Gabrielle showed me."

"You didn't even want to look at them or hear me out," Eve said quietly.

"I know you want to help Eve, but the thing is...I don't want you to. This feud I have with Octavius has nothing to do with you and I don't want you to get involved."

Eve frowned and stared into her mother's eyes. "This is my home too, you know. I care about the empire as much as you do. I should be allowed to help especially when you need it the most. Gabrielle was right," she huffed.

Xena was surprised to hear Gabrielle's name brought into this. "What did Gabrielle say?"

Eve frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. "She told me you don't like it when people help you because you let your pride get in the way. I see that is true now."

She didn't like to hear that. She always had heard Gabrielle say that to her for years, but never thought anything of it until now. Eve was obviously affected by her behavior and she hadn't realized what she was doing was affecting her so badly. Her eyes wandered around as she thought of everything she had said to Eve. She never complimented her on her good deeds, instead she yelled at her because she believed she was protecting her, but now she saw that it was a negative effect. Gabrielle was right, she was too harsh on Eve.

"Well," Xena said softly, "I don't know what to say," for once in her life. "I'm sorry I made you feel this way. I appreciate everything you do, Eve. Sometimes I don't show it, but –"

" _Sometimes_?" Eve snapped back.

Xena smiled, "okay, I don't show it at all." She grabbed Eve's hands holding them tightly, "I promise I will make sure you get the appreciation you deserve from now on." She saw Eve was thinking it over and Xena leaned down to look in her eyes. "You know I don't break my promises," she said and Eve nodded.

"I'm..sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier. Don't be angry with Gabrielle. It's not her fault, she tried to stop me," Eve admitted. Now that just made Xena feel even worse. She had reprimanded Gabrielle in the office about this situation. She would have to apologize to her as well, she thought.

"You should listen to Gabrielle more often," Xena teased and Eve finally smiled. She brought Eve closer to her and Eve rested her head on her shoulder. She kissed the top of Eve's head and wrapped her arm around her small frame. "You should rest," she said and Eve let out a loud sigh causing Xena to smirk.

"I am not tired," Eve protested.

Xena grinned at her stubborn daughter. "I promise you will need it later," she placed her hand on Eve's stomach and Eve placed her hand over hers.

Eve leaned up right and stared at her mother with fearful eyes. "Mother..." she began and she had Xena's full attention now. "I have..." Xena's eyes widened and her smile was warm.

"Yes?"

"Ihavealotofquestions," she said quickly and Xena almost wanted to laugh seeing the fear in her daughter's eyes.

Gabrielle leaned on the archway and saw Xena sitting with Eve in the atrium. She figured the two had made up since Xena was smiling, almost laughing and Eve looked pretty afraid for some reason. She stood there shaking her head. Eve probably told Xena that she was worried or had "many questions" as Eve lightly put it as Gabrielle remembered.

"Xena," Gabrielle called out and got her attention immediately. "I need you for a moment," she smiled. Xena stood up bringing Eve along with her. She was clinging closely to her, which seemed unusual. Gabrielle grinned, "since you're up, I wanted to discuss the meeting with Octavius."

Xena turned to her daughter and Eve still had that doe-eyed look about her. She pat her daughter's hand, "after I am finished with this I will be there to answer all your questions, alright?" Eve nodded, liking the sound of that, it eased her nerves.

Gabrielle raised her hand, "Can I join? I have some stories to tell myself," she grinned deviously.

Eve seemed intrigued while Xena was not amused. "What kind of stories?" the princess asked.

"Never mind the stories," Xena waved her hand and Gabrielle pouted.

"Come on, Xena! I'm sure Eve would love to hear them..." she grinned and Xena rolled her eyes.

Eve smiled at her mother's face. She was obviously annoyed and walked off without them. Gabrielle hooked arms with Eve as they walked behind the empress. "I want to hear the stories," she grinned.

Xena groaned, "after this  _remember_?" she reiterated.

Gabrielle nodded and pat Eve's cheek. "Right of course. Business first," she winked and Eve smiled. Xena then pulled on Gabrielle's arm to walk faster with her to the office. She nearly tripped and Eve shook her head.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: some fluff before some bullshit happens. Enjoy lol.**

Chapter 19

Xena had finally decided on a date to go see Octavius and had Gabrielle write the letter out for her choosing her words very carefully. She still had so much to do and would probably leave at the end of the month to see the emperor. That was the quickest she could see him and she hoped that he would understand, but it was quite a long journey to Rome and time was just not on her side lately. The two spent a few hours in the office going over tactics scanning over large maps of the Mediterranean.

Gabrielle sat in a chair in front of Xena's desk and placed an X over Anatolia and Assyria. She pointed to the areas and Xena folded her arms. "The Romans already have this area and our ships are there at the ports right now. We gave them specific orders not to attack, but it seems that in Assyria the men either didn't listen or were fighting in self defense." She sighed. "That's the only reason that I can think of that the Romans would capture Solan and Allat."

The empress nodded her head going over the various scenarios. She groaned, biting her bottom lip due to nervousness. "I want to send more men to Assyria to help Allat and Solan, but I don't think they will be of much help by then."

"We sent almost half of our men to these ports. You want to deploy more soldiers  _just_  to Assyria?" Gabrielle was questioning Xena's motives right now.

Xena shook her head unsure of what to do now. She rubbed her face feeling frustrated that she was so far away and couldn't help anyone. She knew that the other Roman ports in North Africa would not attack her ships because Octavius had poor generals in that area. But in Anatolia, Xena was unsure if they would attack. She wasn't even sure if they attacked already or not. Given the general that was stationed in Anatolia she was positive that her ships were going to be wrecked.

She threw her hands in the air, "I don't know what to do." She was more frustrated at herself for not having a backup plan.

Gabrielle sat in silence and flipped to the next map of Assyria alone. "Maybe Eve can help us. She is very good at strategic warfare, although I don't know how," she rubbed her chin. "She's only seen two wars when she was younger."

Xena waved her hand and smacked her other hand on the map standing up abruptly. "Those Roman rats need to disappear off this planet," she groaned and began pacing around her office. Gabrielle stood up and kept looking over the map. "Has Samuel put in any input about this problem?" she brushed her finger on the wall, finding a bit of dust. She raised an eyebrow at this and rubbed her fingers together continuing to walk around the room.

Gabrielle sighed, "I didn't get a chance to talk with him."

"I see." She turned to her blonde companion. "Before I forget, I want a messenger sent to Baghdad," the mention of the Persian king reminded her of her promise she made to him about sending a special invitation to his mother.

Gabrielle furrowed her brows, a bit confused as to why Xena wanted a message sent there. "What's in Baghdad?" she was almost afraid to ask.

Xena smiled, "the Queen of Persia," she said casually. Gabrielle blinked, now even more confused. She saw her face and wanted to laugh at her bemused expression. "Samuel's mother lives in Baghdad. He wants her to come here for the wedding. I promised I would send her an invitation for him."

Gabrielle nodded, still a little confused. She had almost forgotten about the wedding as it hadn't been the focus lately. "Right. The wedding," she sat back down feeling super overwhelmed, perhaps more than Xena was. She was so calm about that, of course it was her idea, but she didn't seem worried about it. "Xena, what are we going to do about that?" she felt a bit of angst just thinking about it.

"That's something we both need to discuss with Eve," she turned to see the sun was looming in the sky. It was mid afternoon and she had still yet to speak with her daughter like she promised. She never broke any of her promises and she wasn't going to start now. "Should we call it a day?" she smiled at Gabrielle. "For now at least."

Gabrielle nodded, quite thankful. "I thought you'd never say that. I'm so exhausted!" she stood up and linked arms with Xena. "Wars are tiring," they exited the room and Xena smirked at her friend. "We still need to figure out what to do about Allat and Solan. I don't want anything to happen to them."

"I have complete confidence in them both, but I guess that is also something we can discuss with...Eve," she sighed, finally relenting to allow some of her daughter's insight during this campaign.

The two entered the main hallway which was filled with classrooms. Gabrielle squeezed Xena's hand, "I'm going to find Eve to meet with us," she smiled.

"I will be in my room waiting," Xena grinned as Gabrielle ran off to find Eve. She looked up the long staircase and sighed. This was going to take awhile she thought. Taking gradual steps she climbed the never-ending stairs to her bedroom.

* * *

Greeting the guards outside her room she opened the doors and entered her room, feeling like this place was awfully dark. She went to the large open arched windows and pushed the thick curtains back, letting in some sunlight into the dark room. Turning around she saw her armor neatly placed on the wall with her chakram next to it. Her fingers grazed the armor and somehow wished she would never have to wear it again, though she was sure she would have to eventually.

Sighing she looked into the mirror to see if her skin had changed at all. Her neck was almost completely clear though her arm was not. Stepping closer to the mirror she tapped the glass just to make sure she wasn't completely insane. She smiled chuckling at herself. "My mind is playing tricks on me," she said aloud then turned around to fix the blankets on her bed.

Within the mirror Xena's reflection reached out beyond the glass and tugged on her dress. Xena gasped and turned around but saw nothing behind her. Frowning she began to walk around the room and picked up the chakram off the wall, walking steadily. She opened her wardrobe and pushed her gowns aside to see if anyone was hiding but again, she came up with nothing.

She scratched her neck feeling anxiety rising. She lowered the chakram and went back to her bed to finish rearranging the blankets. She didn't like for her bedroom of all places, to be messy especially if her daughter and Gabrielle were to come in here soon. She placed the chakram on the end of the bed and fixed the pillows.

A hand from behind slowly reached for the chakram and slid it off the bed. Xena saw out of the corner of her eye that her chakram was missing. She snapped her head around and her eyes widened at what stood before her. A mirror image of herself. Her eyes went to the mirror and saw her reflection was missing. The mirror image of herself covered Xena's mouth with her hand and smiled at her.

The reflection of Xena waved the chakram in front of Xena's face. "Don't make any sudden moves," she whispered and Xena blinked, refusing to fight back due to shock. "I've been watching you."

Xena raised an eyebrow and slapped the hand away from her mouth. "What are you?" her eyes kept glancing back at the empty mirror and back to the image of herself. Her eyes scanned the woman, she was wearing the same dress as her obviously. Truly a mirror image.

"I'm you of course!" the mirrored Xena said with a smile.

Xena laughed mockingly, "that's it. I'm losing my mind," she grumbled and rubbed her forehead feeling a bit warm all of a sudden.

The mirror image twirled the chakram in her hand leisurely and Xena frowned. She grabbed the chakram but both held onto it tightly. Xena groaned and tried to pry it away from the mirror image of herself. "You need this?" she teased and Xena head butted the image, and both stumbled back. Xena fell onto the bed and she moaned. Her head began to throb and the image huffed getting up off the floor.

"If this is one of Ares' dirty tricks I'm not going to fall for it," Xena pointed the chakram at the mirror image of herself.

The reflection grinned, "I'm not one of Ares' spies," she stepped closer and Xena stepped away, still unsure of this. "You need me Xena," she pleaded with a hand over her heart.

Xena shook her head, "I don't know what you are, but you're not me. You're not real."

"But I am real, Xena," she reached forward and touched Xena's face with her hand. Xena flinched almost as if she were being touched by a ghost. "I can help you...if you let me," she said in a soft voice.

Xena closed her eyes wishing that this thing in front of her would disappear but as soon as she opened her eyes she realized that it wasn't going away and was indeed real. "I don't need your help..." she retorted and the image frowned at her.

"Yes you do!" she yelled back and grabbed onto Xena's arm tightly. Xena almost felt like her arm was on fire and she cringed. "You never want anybody's help!" her grip tightened and Xena's eyes grew in fear as her entire arm was burning and that awful rash was coming back. "Let me help you!"

Xena growled, "I don't need help from strangers," she kicked the mirror image in her torso sending her to the floor. Xena groaned and wrapped her arm around her midsection, feeling winded. She soon came to realize that whatever pain she inflicted onto the image of herself, also was inflicted upon her. She breathed slowly, trying to ignore the pain both in her arm and stomach. She leaned over the bed trying to regain her composure.

The image looked up and saw Xena leaning over the bed. She smiled and crawled on the floor grabbing her ankles throwing Xena off balance, sending her face first onto the ground. She grabbed onto her legs climbing on top of her and Xena looked behind her to see the woman using her as a ladder basically.

"You should stop trying to run from your problems, Xena!" the mirror image said and flipped Xena over, now pinning her to the floor straddling her legs on Xena's hips. Xena blinked as she stared up at the perfect image of herself. It was quite frightening to look at yourself let alone the person pinning you down to the ground.

Xena frowned, "I don't run from my problems anymore," she said calmly.

"That's not what I've seen..." the image grinned deviously and Xena didn't understand. She nodded her head slowly, "oh yes I've been watching you like I've said. For many years now you lied to Gabrielle and you continue to lie to her!"

Xena shook her head, "no...I haven't lied to Gabrielle..." she began to think of all the things that she has said recently.

The image grinned and got inches away from Xena's face. "Now you're just lying to yourself..." she hissed. "You need me Xena. I can make you whole again!" her eyes filled with fury and Xena's eyes enlarged.

"I don't need help from you!" she growled.

The reflection laughed in Xena's face and sat up straight. "Look at you." Her laughter died down a bit. "You cannot even accept help from  _yourself_. You're more at war with yourself than you are with your enemies." She frowned clenching her teeth. "When will you have peace, Xena?!  _When_?" she yelled and Xena blinked. "You're so self centered that you forget about the ones who love you the most."

Xena was getting tired of listening to this. "That is not true," she disagreed.

The image leaned forward, "is that so?" she grinned raising a curious brow. "Your daughter is to be a mother soon and you have shown no compassion towards her," she leaned in closer to Xena's face. "Gabrielle has been your friend –your partner –for twenty years, yet you take her for granted." She saw the self realization in Xena's face. "She has always been by your side whenever you needed her. Have you done the same for...her?" her voice hissed and Xena lowered her eyes, unsure how to feel now.

"I would do anything for Gabrielle. I love her," Xena said as she stared into her own eyes from above.

The image quirked her mouth, "but have you  _told_  her?" she smirked.

Eve opened the door and saw her mother on the floor holding her chakram in one hand. "Mother..." she frowned. Xena lifted her head, now realizing she was alone, the reflection of herself had disappeared. Gabrielle was standing beside Eve looking equally confused. "What are you doing on the floor?" she ran to her side and grabbed her hand.

Xena got up off the floor carefully and stared into Gabrielle's bemused eyes. "I was...having self reflection time," she played it off, though not meaning that figuratively in the least. She stared at the mirror and nothing stared back at her. She felt like she was going crazy, but she definitely wasn't alone in that moment.

Gabrielle smiled, "when I said meditate Xena, I didn't quite mean it to do it in that way..." she jested. Xena weakly grinned at her and then placed the chakram back on the wall next to her armor.

"I'll have to remember that," Xena brushed her hands down her gown, smoothing the wrinkles out. She rolled her sleeve up to examine her arm. The burning sensation had not subsided yet but it was less noticeable. She turned to see Eve sitting on her bed waiting patiently.

Gabrielle had her arms folded and looked to Xena for an explanation. "Are you feeling alright?"

Xena wrapped her arms around Gabrielle and squeezed her tightly. Gabrielle gasped not really expecting that. "Gabrielle, you know I would do anything for you, right?" she asked and Eve stared at the two's exchange.

Gabrielle coughed, "yes of course, Xena." She tapped her gently on the back. "I can't breathe..." she said hoarsely. Xena let go of her and pulled away, brushing Gabrielle's hair away from her cheek. "Something going on with you?" she chuckled.

"No, I just wanted to let you know that," she grinned. She saw Eve on the bed smiling warmly at them both. Xena came to sit next to her daughter and touched her wavy locks in between her fingers. Gabrielle sat on the floor with her legs crossed. Eve stared at Gabrielle and offered her to sit on the bed with them but she preferred the floor.

Xena stared at Eve and wrapped her arm around her, bringing her close. Eve felt like her mother was being very odd and unlike herself lately. "Mother," she winced as her mother tightly hugged her. "Are you okay...?" she smiled.

"I'm sorry I haven't been paying attention to you," Xena looked into her daughter's eyes and saw them light up immediately as did her smile. Gabrielle looked at Xena and grinned, not sure what happened to her but she was in a very good mood right now.

"You're in a good mood," Gabrielle mentioned and Xena turned her attention to her. "Maybe I should meditate on the floor..." she frowned and Xena stayed silent, not breathing a word. Her eyes went to the mirror and it appeared normal. She exhaled softly, feeling a bit relieved for now.

Eve touched her mother's arm and Xena winced, pulling her arm away. "Sorry. I just wanted to see if your arm is doing better," she fidgeted with her hands in her lap.

Xena smiled, "it's better but thank you," she pat Eve's hand gently. "So," her smile beamed, "you have questions?" she leaned in closely with a warm grin and Gabrielle hopped onto the bed behind the two. The princess suddenly felt put in the spotlight as the two women stared at her anxiously.

"Well," Eve began and Gabrielle leaned in closer. Eve nervously laughed, "I don't know if I can ask with you two staring at me..." she lowered her eyes.

Gabrielle chuckled, "sorry Eve, we're just...anxious to hear your concerns," she egged her on.

Xena could feel that Eve's nerves were getting the best of her. She was very quiet and that was unusual for her given her personality. She was always so outspoken and wasn't afraid to share her opinion but now, she was quiet. It reminded her of when she was a child and she had done something embarrassing and kept quiet for days on end. "We're making you uncomfortable aren't we?" she smirked.

Eve nodded, "just a little bit," she blushed. She crossed her legs and wrapped her arms around her midsection. "I don't feel very good right now," she sighed. Her nerves building up inside her causing her stomach to churn.

Gabrielle rubbed Eve's arm and came close to her. "When is the last time you ate something?" she pried. Eve averted her eyes afraid to say that she hadn't eaten all day. "I thought so!" she crawled off the bed. "I'll be right back," she kissed the top of Eve's head only making the princess feel more awkward than she needed to right now.

Now together, Xena and Eve were alone sitting on the bed. Xena saw the distress in her daughter's face. It was true that she hadn't been paying much attention to Eve lately but she always thought she was a strong girl, but then realized how she must have been feeling. She thought to herself that if she would have had her mother with her when she was pregnant when she was younger, that she would have felt a lot better, safer and less scared of the unknown.

Eve scratched her arm out of a nervous habit she picked up from Xena unfortunately. Xena grabbed her hand and Eve looked at her mother and saw her smiling at her. "Eve," she sighed and grabbed her daughter's hand. "I know how you feel right now." The princess blinked at her as she couldn't fathom her mother's kindness towards her. "I know you're scared, right?" she leaned closer and Eve nodded silently. "But you don't need to be scared because I'm here with you," she smiled.

Eve felt a little better about that, realizing that her mother would and has always been there for her during her life. Even when she was far away, she was always with her. "What did you do when you found out you were pregnant with my brother?" she asked catching Xena off guard.

The empress thought for awhile about that. It had been a very long time since she thought of that. Digging deep into her memories she remembered that exact moment. "Well, at first I was in denial," she smirked. "I was very young at the time, around your age. I kept it a secret for a long time before I told Borias."

Eve frowned, finding that very shocking coming from her mother. "How  _long_  is a 'long time'?" she asked curiously.

Xena laughed lowly thinking of how naive she was. "Many weeks," she saw the shock in her eyes and only made her laugh more. "Too long," she pat her daughter's hand. "But eventually I told him and then he wouldn't let me out of his sight after that. I was too stupid to realize that he actually cared for me at the time. I pushed him away." She stared now, seriously, in her daughter's eyes. "I didn't want that to happen to you. You are lucky to have Samuel. He really...cares for you, I can tell," she smiled warmly.

The princess smiled nodding her head. "He does, but sometimes he annoys me. He always asks me how I am doing and," she groaned, "I am just not in the mood."

Xena grinned finding that amusing. "It's better than he cares instead of not caring at all. You must remember that he is probably just as scared as you are. Men are better at hiding that," she winked.

Gabrielle returned with some fruit and bread. She set the tray on the bed and joined the others. She grinned at Eve making her feel uneasy. "You didn't tell any stories without me did you?"

"Just one," Xena said and Gabrielle pouted.

" _Great_." She frowned, "which one was it?"

Eve chimed in, "mother was telling me about when she told Borias about Solan," she grinned seeing her mother's uncomfortable state. She picked at the grapes slowly eating them one by one not to upset her stomach.

Gabrielle had a smug grin, "that's an intense story," she said and Eve looked to her mother who had a blank face glaring at her blonde companion. "Can I tell a story now?" she begged. Xena hung her head lowly and Eve suddenly was feeling a lot better. "So when Xena was..." she counted on her fingers trying to remember exactly, "five or was it six months...," she shrugged, "anyway, when she was pregnant with you," she pointed to Eve and Xena was feeling an embarrassing story coming on, she just knew it. Gabrielle completely ignored Xena at the moment. "She was sword fighting with me outside. She was complaining the entire time that she couldn't fit into anything and constantly had to have new dresses made." Xena groaned just listening to this. She knew this story all too well.

"Gabrielle can you tell another story?" Xena pleaded.

"No!" Gabrielle smiled and Eve hid her smile from her mother. Xena rolled her eyes. "As you know, your mother is a very good swordsman," her eyes narrowed as she peered over at the annoyed empress. She continued, "she never lost her balance, ever!" her voice heightened keeping Eve enticed in the story. "Well that day, Xena found out that balance wasn't her friend anymore." She heard Xena curse to herself and Eve rested her hand on her mother's knee. "She always gloated about her will to balance so well..."

Eve grinned, "I can tell this doesn't end well..." by the look of her mother's face it was obvious.

Gabrielle held up her finger, "you guessed right, but wait for the climax. So, we were fighting together and I caught her off guard somehow. I must have been lucky that day. She stepped backward losing her footing and fell into the fountain in the garden behind her." Eve began laughing then saw her mother's face and stifled her laughter. "You remember that day don't you, Xena?"

"Unfortunately," Xena replied flatly.

"She never gloated about her  _amazing_  balance again," Gabrielle smiled and bowed her head as Eve grinned clapping her hands. "I have another one," she began and Xena reached forward covering her mouth with her hand.

"I think that's enough stories for now, Gabrielle," she pinched her arm and Gabrielle squealed. The empress smirked and let go of her. The blonde rubbed her arm frowning at her.

It was rare that Eve got to hear anything humorous from her mother. She was always so serious and firm, but it was nice to see that she was a normal person sometimes. She supposed she had Gabrielle to thank for that. Gabrielle brought out the best in Xena and Eve was quite aware of that her entire life. Her mother was not the same when Gabrielle wasn't around.

Eve smiled at the two and saw her mother share a glance with Gabrielle. "You're right mother," she said and Xena turned towards her, a bit confused. "I shouldn't be scared because I have you two with me...and Samuel of course," she grinned.

Gabrielle nodded, "just to let you know Eve, your mother was a nervous wreck the entire time." Xena shot her another glare.

Eve turned to her mother a bit shocked to hear that. "Really?" suddenly she didn't feel so alone.

Xena interrupted before her blonde could continue. "What Gabrielle is trying to say..." she raised an eyebrow and Gabrielle smiled slyly. "That I didn't know what to do. I was very clueless about children. I didn't raise Solan, so I didn't experience motherhood the same way other mothers did. But, Gabrielle helped me and you turned out fine," she smiled and brushed her fingers through her daughter's hair. "Just like we will be here to help you."

"I feel very lucky," Eve smiled and the two women shared a knowing smile with each other. Eve continued eating the fruit as it remained silent for awhile. "So mother..." she began, "the campaign. Gabrielle told me you need my help."

Xena sighed, "did she?"

"Let me help, please? I want to help you," she begged her mother and grabbed her arm firmly.

Xena stared back at the mirror and remembered what the mirror image of herself told her. If she couldn't accept from herself, how could she accept from others? She was still feeling uneasy about that small encounter but she realized that if someone was offering help, that she should take it. Eve had very good ideas and Xena knew that, but she was too worried –no proud –to allow her daughter to aid her. Perhaps she, meaning her other self, was right. She was too prideful.

"Alright you can help," Xena mumbled and Eve's eyes lit up.

"Really? You will let me help you?" she leaned in close and Xena nodded her head silently. Eve kissed her mother's cheek. "I promise I won't disappoint you!"

Xena smiled, "you could never disappoint me." Gabrielle smiled at Xena and winked at her. Seeing Eve's excitement was definitely the highlight of Xena's evening. She had been so glum for awhile now, but now it was like she was a completely different person. Xena cringed and looked at her arm to see the rash had faded somewhat and the pain subsided.

Eve finished the last of the fruit and bread then quickly jumped off the bed. "I have to tell Samuel," she ran to Gabrielle and kissed her cheek and left the room.

Now the two were in the room and Gabrielle sighed, feeling quite proud of Xena. "You have some kind of epiphany on the floor earlier?" she leaned back on the pillows, relaxing. She thought of what Aphrodite said to her about Xena fixing herself and herself alone.

The empress swayed her head side to side. "Something like that." She admitted quietly. "Gabrielle," she said seriously now that Eve had gone, "I would do anything for you because I love you. You know that, right?" she looked into those green eyes. Gabrielle sat up staring at Xena.

"Of course I know that or I wouldn't be here," she jested. She crawled closer to the empress and took her hand in hers. "I love you too, Xena." She smiled and Xena grinned, liking the sound of those words coming from her mouth. They truly didn't say it enough to one another. Xena truly took Gabrielle for granted, when one day she might slip away from her.

Xena then started thinking of her campaign. "When I go see Octavius in Rome I want to go alone," she said and Gabrielle frowned.

"But why? We always travel together," she felt so disappointed.

"I want to go alone. Stay with Eve and Samuel. If anything happens while I am away I don't want Eve to be in the way."

Gabrielle could understand that but she would surely miss Xena when she left. "Alright, I'll stay. Do you think something will happen here?"

Xena frowned, "you can never be too sure with Octavius. He has grown wiser and trickier over the years. He thinks that I am old and worn out, which might be true!" she smirked. "But it is age that has given me the wisdom I need."

"There's a rumor going around that he is calling you a cockroach," Gabrielle stifled a laugh.

"I'd rather be a cockroach than a Roman any day," Xena joked and the blonde rolled her eyes. Her jokes...she thought, her damn jokes.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: I always break these dense chapters into two parts. Something brews in Assyria ;)**

_Chapter 20 –Call of Destiny Part I_

During the week Xena, Gabrielle, Samuel and Eve were inside Xena's head office discussing what they planned to do about the Romans in Assyria. So far they had spent days trying to come up with a plan but had come up empty every time. Samuel was growing tired of going around in circles for days now and time wasn't their friend at the moment. He knew that the Romans were waiting for Xena to show up and save the day otherwise they would have been sent a letter about Allat and Solan by now.

The young Persian king tapped his fingers on the armrest as he sat facing Xena and Gabrielle with Eve sitting next to him. "I have an idea," he said and all three women looked intrigued, staring at him. "I can go to Assyria to help Solan and Allat."

There was silence in the room and Eve sighed loudly, "are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked feeling worried about him leaving Greece.

He shrugged, "Xena is going to see Octavius in the next few weeks and you obviously can't go," he grabbed her hand smiling warmly at her. "So I volunteer to go myself. I will bring reinforcements with me."

Gabrielle rested her chin on her palm listening to the Persian. "It's not such a horrible idea, right Xena?" she turned to the empress who seemed a bit conflicted. She tapped her fingernails on the desk calmly.

The empress stared at Samuel carefully, "what exactly will you do when you get there? If you attack the Romans then that will only enrage Octavius. Not to mention...it will certainly speed up the process of this campaign."

Gabrielle nodded her head agreeing with Xena. "We are not ready to attack the Romans full force yet."

Eve chimed in, "yes I agree, but you don't always have to use a sword to get what you want," she raised an eyebrow towards Samuel.

"Technically Solan and Allat belong to Greece. It is unlawful for them to keep them as hostages and since Persia is now allies with Greece, they also belong to me. They can't keep them locked up forever," he grinned.

Xena understood where Samuel was coming from but she had dealt with Romans all her life and knew that they didn't always play the game the correct way. "I know you have not been in a war before, Samuel, but you will soon find out that your enemy does not play fairly. Octavius has been trying to get rid of me for almost two decades now and has lost several times. He is making sure that he has every area guarded in case I attack him. He is ready to spill blood." She shook her head feeling a headache coming on. "The Romans will outnumber you."

Gabrielle interjected, "The Persians are known to be good fighters at sea so that is why we used your war ships instead of ours. If you go to Assyria you will definitely be outnumbered on land."

The king sighed, feeling frustrated that the two women did not have the least bit of confidence in him. "My men are very skilled in fighting on land. Many of them are the sons and cousins from my father's army years ago. They come from a long line of soldiers and warlords. I only pick the best men for my army," he stared at the empress and she didn't seem the least bit impressed.

The princess tapped her fingers on her knee feeling the tension rising in the room. Her mother was not cutting Samuel any slack and she had been in many wars before and knew the process. She was right, Samuel was too inexperienced to deal with a matter like this. Eve knew her mother would not risk someone else's life for the sake of a war. She leaned forward and raised her hand to speak. "If Samuel does go to Assyria, he will not be taken seriously since he is Persian and not Greek." Samuel looked at her in shock to see that she was not defending him in the least. "Mother is going to leave soon to meet with Octavius but that doesn't solve the situation in Assyria. I can go with Samuel to see the Romans in Assyria." She saw all three of them stare at her especially her mother giving her a vicious glare. "Gabrielle can come too," she added as the audience remained silent.

Xena folded her arms, "you want to represent Greece in Assyria?" she raised a curious brow. "Are you out of your mind?" she groaned.

Gabrielle came to Eve's rescue, "I can go with them and make sure nothing happens."

"Something  _always_  happens, Gabrielle," Xena snapped back.

"Mother you said I could help you. I think this would be a great way for me to aid in this war." She pleaded and her mother was not listening whatsoever. "Solan is my brother and Allat, a good friend. I won't let anything happen to them."

Samuel watched the three women exchange back and forth until Xena started arguing with Eve it became a bit awkward for him.

"I understand that you want to help but it's dangerous for you to go to Assyria," Xena protested.

Gabrielle scoffed loudly causing Xena to turn her head towards the blonde. "That is so hypocritical of you Xena. You fought on many occasions when it was 'too dangerous' for you too."

Xena now started arguing with Gabrielle and Eve stood up joining in. Samuel's eyes widened as he saw all three women arguing with each other and talking over one another. Their voices jumbled and he had no idea what either of them were saying or if they were getting each other's points across. He covered his ears listening to their voices carry loudly in the room.

He stood up, "ladies! Please!" he yelled and the three women ceased argument. He exhaled deeply, thankful that was finished. "My god," he rubbed his face calming himself down. "I understand your concern Xena, but Eve will be safe with me and Gabrielle," he saw Eve and she smiled at him, thanking him silently that he was sticking up for her. Gabrielle grinned at him as well. The only person not smiling was Xena. He faced the very irate empress and cleared his throat. "I promise, if anything happens to her, you can punish me as you see fit," he bowed his head averting his gaze.

Xena lifted her chin, "be careful what you say, Samuel or should I remind you what I used to do to my enemies?" her grin most unknowing and devious. Eve's eyes widened and she grabbed Samuel's arm gently.

He shook his head, "no...I'm quite aware," he half smiled feeling very small at the moment.

"It shall be a diplomatic mission," Gabrielle said finally joining in. this basically meant that they were all going and all three of them outnumbered Xena in her vote, but lest they forget, that Xena was still empress, higher than them all, even Samuel in this instance.

The empress sighed folding her arms feeling very defeated right now. "You will be careful,  _all_  of you." She said quietly. Eve hid her excited grin and Samuel felt her hand firmly grip his arm. She flipped through a few pages of notes they had all written down together. "You should leave by tomorrow, we cannot waste any time," she casually said then looked up at Samuel and Eve, who were standing motionless. She widened her eyes, gesturing them to leave to pack at once.

The two left in a hurry and now it was just her and Gabrielle in the room. Gabrielle stood beside Xena twirling her fingers on the desk. "You don't want us to go, I know."

"I can't stop you," Xena said finally admitting the truth. "I trust you Gabrielle," she smiled weakly. "It is very rare that we go our separate ways in these sorts of things," she shrugged casually, not allowing her full emotions to arise.

Gabrielle came up to Xena wrapping her arm around her waist, "we'll be back before you leave for Rome, I'm sure of it." she rested her head on Xena's arm, feeling her warmth close to her.

* * *

The following morning before the sun had risen, Eve, Samuel and Gabrielle were ready to make their long trek to Assyria. Samuel was readying the horses with many travel bags filled with the necessities. He also packed many weapons, which he hoped would not be needed.

Xena had her arms folded wearing a black long sleeved dress with a high collar wrapping around her neck and her hair up in a neat tightly coiled bun. She watched Gabrielle and Samuel prepare their horses in silence, the air was so calm and it was quite foggy this morning. Gabrielle looked up to see a very solemn Xena looking dead at her. She was obviously not very happy.

She came up to the empress and scanned her attire. "You look nice," she marveled.

Xena scanned Gabrielle and she was wearing minimal armor, something she hadn't seen Gabrielle wear in awhile. "I haven't seen you wear that in a long time," her fingers grazed the metal shoulder plates and then touched her cheek softly. "Gabrielle if –"

Gabrielle hushed Xena, "don't worry, I have this handled. I've done this many times, remember?" she grinned warmly. Xena smiled at her in return, feeling as if she were a parrot, constantly reminding Gabrielle of everything that she knew all too well.

Eve came out of the palace and Gabrielle saw her first and she couldn't help but gape at her. Xena turned around and her eyes widened. The princess felt a bit awkward as both women were staring at her as if she had done something wrong. "Something wrong with my clothes?" she turned about herself making sure she was ready to go. She saw nothing wrong with what she was wearing.

Xena couldn't take her eyes off of her daughter. Eve was wearing a gold set of armor, a pleated skirt with knee high dark boots to match her dark sleeves beneath her plated gold armor. It reminded her of her armor she wore in that awful dream she had from so long ago that Ares showed her. It was almost identical. She blinked finally realizing she was staring far too long, making Eve uncomfortable. She cleared her throat, "where did you get that armor?" she asked politely.

"I got it when I was in Qin," the princess smiled. Gabrielle was speechless as was Xena. She wrapped a dark cloak around her, clasping it to her armor. She turned to Gabrielle. "Are you ready?"

Gabrielle turned to Xena then back to Eve, nodding, readying herself to leave. She hugged Xena tightly and Xena sighed. "I'll bring her back in one piece, don't worry," she whispered. Xena smiled pulling away. Gabrielle slowly let go of her hand as she made way to her horse with Samuel.

Eve stared at her mother, still unsure of her feelings about her leaving. "Mother I know you don't want me to go –"

"No Eve, this is your land too, and your people," Xena held up her hand. She exhaled deeply, "I can't stop you from doing what you want to do. I think I've finally learned that..." she lowered her eyes. The princess smiled widely then embraced her mother and Xena held onto her tightly, not really wishing to let go.

Eve tried to pull away but her mother was still holding onto her. She dropped her arms and her eyes wandered around wondering when her mother was going to stop. She grinned, "mother, I need to go..." she whispered in her ear.

Xena finally pulled away and cupped Eve's cheeks with her hands, staring into her blue eyes. "Be careful and stay out of trouble!" she firmly said. The princess nodded and Xena smiled at her, then kissed her forehead before she went running off to her horse to join Samuel and Gabrielle.

The soldiers opened the large iron gates and Xena watched all three trot off beyond the gates, exiting the palace grounds. Gabrielle turned around and waved at her and Xena stood still, smiling at her. For the first time, she was alone, without Gabrielle and they had separate missions instead of doing them together. They did everything together and to see her ride off without her by Gabrielle's side, she felt like she had lost a part of herself in that moment. Xena stayed at the entrance watching the three leave the grounds until she could not see them anymore and the iron gates closing. She felt enclosed and very alone at the moment. She couldn't remember the last time she spent time alone in the palace without Gabrielle. She was beginning to have doubts about allowing them to go off on their own, but Xena had to remember that Gabrielle was more than capable of defending herself and Eve as well. All three were very skilled fighting against the enemy, but Xena had confidence that Gabrielle could take Samuel any day.

The hardest part was going to be waiting for them to return and what would she do until she had to go to Rome? Would they even return by the time she had to leave? Gabrielle said they would come back before then by Xena had her doubts about that. It was a few days journey to Assyria, half by horse and the other by ship. Xena also hoped that their arrival would not stir too much trouble and not cause them grief. There was no way they were going to return in two weeks before she had to leave to see Octavius. No way, she kept telling herself.

Xena sauntered back into the palace and the doors were closed. She saw a lot of children walking sleepily to their morning classes. She didn't want to stop their education just because of an ongoing war. She didn't stop it before years ago and even when she left to Egypt, the school kept going without her presence. She smiled at them all as they appeared to be walking like zombies to class.

The only thing she did like was that the palace that had classrooms were all on one side while her and everyone else's quarters were on the other side in the west wing. And there was a long hallway parting the two wings so they were definitely not close to each other, though the entrance was in the east wing, she sometimes passed through when she came and went.

As she was passing through to get to the west wing she heard a small voice call her name and she turned around to see a child no older than six, staring up at her. Xena smiled and knelt down to his eye level. He didn't want to look in her eyes so his wandered around the palace. He stammered a bit trying to get out what he wanted to say. "Is the princess going to come to our class...this morning?" he fumbled in his words.

Xena blinked. She didn't know that Eve even went over to this wing, but it answered her question when she wondered where Eve had disappeared to for hours on end and she couldn't find her. She placed her hand on the small boy's shoulder. "The princess is away right now."

The boy seemed disappointed in that and Xena lifted his chin. "Tell me...what does the princess do in your class?" she asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

He beamed, "she –she tells us stories!" Xena was fearful about that, she hoped that Eve didn't tell them any inappropriate stories. Gabrielle used to tell children stories in class years ago until she got too busy with political affairs. "She told us stories about kids in other lands. She told us that we should help them. She says that we are lucky to be here because other kids don't even have homes," the boy calmly explained to the empress.

Xena's eyes sparkled and she smiled. "Yes that is true and one day you will help those children, right?" she raised her eyebrows and the boy nodded.

"We made some clothes for them," the boy's grin was wide showing his small teeth. Xena pursed her lips, unsure what he meant by that. Xena stood up and peered into the classroom. There were piles of clothing stacked up on a table and she thought was interesting. Certainly explained why her maids kept going into the city and coming back with loads of fabric. She was obviously too busy to notice or to care why there was an abundance of fabric coming into her palace.

"The princess told you to do this?" Xena asked the boy. He nodded up at her. She suddenly felt out of the loop when it came to her daughter and her sneaky missions. It appeared that she was far too busy to notice anything except the campaign. Thus, the little talk she had with  _herself_ , had been proven right. She didn't pay enough attention to others around her even though it happened right under her nose. She told the young boy to go back to his class and carry on with their charitable work.

* * *

Gabrielle, Samuel and Eve rode until the sun began to set. The three decided to make camp and would reach the port of Athens in the morning since they were making such good time. Samuel had never camped out before since he never really left his palace and normally spent his nights traveling in caravans. He could say he was very privileged but he noticed that Eve was completely casual about it. he figured that she was probably used to do doing this because of Gabrielle's and Xena's influence on her. He decided not to voice his complaints and played along –when in Rome, right?

After a failed attempt to make a tent, Eve saw him struggle and helped him set up the tent. That was definitely embarrassing to him but she didn't say anything rude to further embarrass him. Gabrielle on the other hand was watching the entire time as she sat in front of the fire, the sun was just setting and she was wondering when Samuel was going to get his tent in order until Eve intervened.

Eve excused herself and took the wineskins with her to go fill them up with water. Samuel sat down on the ground and Gabrielle poked at the fire. He appeared to be a bit dishelmed which didn't go unnoticed by Gabrielle. She smirked at him and poked him with the long stick she had. He glanced up seeing her smug face. "You don't get out much do you?" she asked.

He sighed, "is it that noticeable?" he scoffed. "I've never camped before but Eve seems to enjoy it, so I can learn to enjoy it too," he grinned.

Gabrielle nodded, thinking that was a positive way to look at it. "You're very optimistic, Samuel. If Xena were here she would probably give you a dirty look or something," she chuckled. "She used to do that to me when we camped together while traveling."

He smiled, "Xena is an interesting lady," he mused. He looked at Gabrielle more seriously now. "You and Xena did a good job of raising Eve. Hopefully she and I can do the same," he half smiled.

Gabrielle could sense his nerves from the other side of the fire. She could tell that he was having the same feelings that Eve was having except he was less vocal about it, but since Eve was gone for now, he was able to say something. "It's okay to be nervous, Samuel. Eve was having the same feelings and she told Xena and I about it."

The king blinked, surprised to hear that Eve was feeling the same way. She hadn't voiced her opinions to him. "Well, she didn't tell me."

"She didn't want to worry you, but..." she toyed with the finger some more. "If something is on your mind, you should tell her. I told Xena that a long time ago. It's not good to keep things from each other."

Eve came back with the wineskins filled with water and saw Samuel talking with Gabrielle. She smiled and sat down beside him. "What are you two talking about?"

Gabrielle shrugged casually, "nothing really." She smirked and Samuel felt awkward suddenly. Eve eyed her then turned to Samuel but he just grinned at her. "Well I'm going to sleep. We need to get up early so we can make it to the port," she eyed them both. "Don't stay up late."

Eve rolled her eyes, "Gabrielle..." she felt like she was being chastised like a child. Now they were alone and Gabrielle in her tent. She drank some water and then scooted closer to Samuel. "So you and Gabrielle looked pretty engaged in a conversation..." she pried, her fingers trailing up his arm, touching his dark wavy hair.

"Eve," he said and grabbed her hand. She stared at his green eyes as he looked to her firmly. "We are honest with each other, yes?" he asked.

She frowned, "I think so. Why do you ask?"

He sighed, rubbing his chin now sure how to approach this subject. "Gabrielle told me that you were nervous about having a child."

Eve now understood his distant attitude towards her. She grabbed his hand in hers, "I was nervous, but I'm not anymore. My mother told me not to be scared because she will be there to help. She made feel a lot better." She smiled but noticed he was not happy, more annoyed at her. "Are  _you_  nervous?" she leaned in forward and he was silent, refusing to answer, or perhaps he was just shy.

He sighed, "you didn't tell me you felt this way."

Eve now thought of what her mother told her when she spoke with her last about this. Samuel had the same feelings as her but was either too shy or too proud to admit it, though she didn't tell him for the same reasons. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You can talk to me," she smiled.

Samuel finally smiled and kissed her forehead, bringing her close as she rested her head on his chest. "From now on I want you to tell me everything."

Eve pulled away staring into his eyes with a raised eyebrow. " _Everything_?"

He nodded, "we are going to be parents together, Eve, so I want to know everything."

"I don't think you want to know  _everything_..." she grinned nervously at him. He stared at her confused at what she meant by that. "Trust me, there are some things you don't need to know," she smiled and leaned into him.

Samuel cocked his head as he toyed with Eve's hair. "Like what?" he asked. Eve's eyes widened, not prepared to answer that loaded question.

Gabrielle called out from her tent, "go to sleep," she groaned, feeling as if she were listening to two teenagers, not to mention she felt old because she was so sleepy so early in the evening.

Eve stifled a laugh and Samuel smiled. She grabbed his hand to retire to their tent so they wouldn't be bothersome to Gabrielle anymore than they already have.

* * *

Eight days have passed since Xena spoke with Gabrielle, Samuel and Eve. She was sure they were already in Assyria. They should have arrived at least three days ago, but she also knew that they would experience some difficulties reaching the coast since the ship they took was Greek and obviously not liked among the Romans guarding the coast of the Assyrian kingdom. She just hoped that there would not be any trouble while they were there.

During her time waiting continuously she sent a messenger to Baghdad like she promised Samuel. She sent a messenger the same day the three left on their mission. She figured her messenger would arrive there fairly quickly especially since the Persian kingdom was allies with hers, traveling was made easier for everyone.

She spent most of her time within her room, bringing her office to her. She looked through the various documents and treaties she had with the Roman empire. There were very few since Octavius disagreed with almost everything she proposed to him over the years. The only treaty she found that was a success was a grain trade between her empire, Assyria and Rome. Zenobia used to be in charge of the grain trade until she was unlawfully killed by the Romans long ago. Xena took over the trade and she nodded staring at the parchment. She would have to use that in the meeting she had with Octavius. She needed to have threats just in case he was irrational.

A knock came to her door and she looked up, groaning not wishing to be disturbed. "Come in," she was in her robe with her hair down, feeling very lazy today, not wishing to get out of bed.

Her trusted messenger opened the door and bowed his head. She folded her arms hoping this wouldn't take too long. He was back very quickly she gathered. "Your highness..." he said lifting his head. "I have delivered the message to the Queen of Persia."

Xena nodded, "good. What did she say?"

He smiled bowing his head again averting his gaze. "Empress..." he paused. "She came back with me." There was a moment of silence.

The empress's eyes widened, not expecting the queen to come here especially so quickly. "She is here right now?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes Empress," he lifted his head. "Her name is Queen Hatima Hatun II."

Xena pursed her lips, thinking that was quite a name and obviously came from a line of royalty, unlike herself. She also remembered Samuel saying that his mother was half Greek, but her name was not Greek at all. It was definitely one hundred percent Persian. She folded the maps back up and set them aside. "Uhm..." she tapped her knee, "tell her I will be down in a few minutes," she told him and he nodded, backing away slowly then left her room.

She got out of bed and opened her wardrobe. Sadly, she had to get dressed, which was not on her agenda for the day but it was very rare that someone came to see her, especially a queen, especially the queen of Persia, and the king's mother. She sighed and picked her favorite blue dress that Gabrielle loved her in so much. She smiled thinking of Gabrielle. It was awfully lonely without her here. She truly did take her for granted.

* * *

The Persian Queen sat in an open atrium inside of the palace. Her eyes wandering around the room looking at all of the decorations, statues and plants inside the home. She hadn't been to Greece since she was sixteen and this palace definitely reminded her of her home so long ago until she left for Persia. Xena's maids kept her quite well fed and brought her an assortment of fruit and wine while she waited.

Though she didn't have to wait long. About half an hour later Xena walked into the room. Queen Hatima turned around and saw Xena waltzing in. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, I was...busy with other things," Xena apologized. The Persian Queen stood up, a petite woman, yet not short, not like Gabrielle. She scanned her attire and definitely was not simple. She wore a white gown embroidered with gold and her long crimped hair hidden beneath a thick white veil draping over her shoulders and back that was attached to a beaded traditional Persian headdress. Xena had forgotten how the Persians often over accessorized their outfits. She felt so simple standing next to her.

"I was well taken care of..." Hatima gestured to the tray of food and drinks that were brought to her while she waited. Xena nodded, smiling softly at her. Both women sat down and Xena wasn't really used to talking to other women especially royal women, except for Zenobia. She was a great ally and a friend to her, but all her life, she had never spoken to Phraate's wife, his first wife, Hatima. "When I received that letter from you I thought it was really odd until you mentioned Samuel's name," she said.

Xena nodded, "he told me that you two haven't seen each other in a long time."

Hatima lowered her head. "Sadly that is true. I left the palace about five years ago and told my son that I didn't want to be disturbed. And then...I got your message," her brows creased, "you are allies with my son?" she was quite shocked.

"It's a long story," Xena admitted, "I wasn't expecting you to travel all the way to Athens."

The Persian queen nodded, "yes I wasn't either but I thought I have been away from my son long enough..." which brought up another question circling in her mind. "You mentioned that he was getting married to your daughter...Eve, right?" she asked. Xena nodded her head unsure what to make of this queen. She had never seen her nor met her before, but she seemed nice. She had the same green eyes as Samuel and almost the same facial structure as him. This must have been why he was nothing like his father, he was very much like his mother. Hatima smiled remembering a time long ago when her husband was still alive. "I remember your daughter when she was a little girl when she was taken by my husband..." Xena hinted some malice in the queen's voice at the mention of Phraates.

She was surprised that the queen even remembered Eve. It had been so long, but apparently the queen was more aware of her surroundings than she thought. "My son really liked her a lot when they were younger. He even asked about her when he was a teenager," Hatima grinned, making Xena feel a bit more relaxed around her.

Xena hadn't mentioned that Eve was pregnant in her letter, as that might seem too much of a shock and better said in person than in a letter from a stranger. "He is a very nice young man," she admitted, which was true, he was very kind and gentle, unlike his late father.

"I never thought the Persians would ally with the Greeks in my lifetime again," Hatima said and looked into the empress's ice blue eyes. "The marriage is an alliance?" she asked more out of curiosity.

Xena was now beginning to feel some awkwardness pass between the two. She nervously grinned, "well it's more than an alliance. Yes, of course, it will bring our empires closer together, but that's not the only reason I asked them to marry." She began and saw confusion in Hatima's large green eyes. She didn't know how else to say other than very bluntly, which might shock her. She was so nice and traveled all this way to meet with her. "You see," Xena tapped her fingers against one another, "my daughter, she's pregnant." She finally said and there was silence.

Hatima's eyes widened as if they could get any bigger, Xena noticed. The Persian queen sat silently and Xena was not able to read her expression. She couldn't tell if she was angry, sad, confused or happy. Her eyes were still wide and she was obviously speechless, something Xena was trying to avoid.

The queen looked at Xena and felt the need to apologize. "Forgive my silence I just...wasn't expecting that." She felt like she was being rude towards Xena, since it was her daughter. "I hope my son has not put a burden on you."

Xena smiled, "no he has been the opposite. I don't know if you've heard but, Greece and Persia are at war with the Romans." Hatima nodded her head, feeling a bit unnerved by that. "He has been helping me in fighting against the Romans."

Hatima smiled, "that is good news," then it donned on her. "Where is Samuel by the way?" she knew that he had to be here with her since Eve was obviously his said wife.

"My daughter and your son are on a mission in Assyria right now. They left eight days ago. I am hoping they return soon," Xena had her doubts though. She knew they wouldn't return in time before she had to leave.

The queen felt nervous for her son going to Assyria. She knew that kingdom was under attack by the Romans. "You allowed your daughter to go there?" she questioned then realized she probably over stepped her boundaries. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," her cheeks flushing a bit.

Xena saw many traits in her that reminded her of Samuel. "I didn't allow her. She just went," she grinned. "I cannot stop my daughter from what she wants to do."

Hatima grinned with the empress, understanding that completely. Her step sons were very much like that, but Samuel was not. Samuel was special and he was a great king. His brothers were too irresponsible to handle the burden of the crown, so it was handed off to the youngest son, that being Samuel. "So we are to be family..." the queen said awkwardly. "I never thought that the Persians would befriend the Greeks let alone intermarry," she smiled. "That's not a stab at you," she immediately said. "My husband hated you and the Greeks, yet he forgot that I am half Greek," she sighed.

Xena remembered Samuel saying that and apparently it was true. "Your husband did a lot of questionable things..." she put it lightly. Hatima agreed, not afraid to speak ill of her late husband.

"I am grateful that my son did not turn out like his father," she exhaled deeply and Xena bit her tongue on that one. There was so much she could say about Phraates but she refrained, keeping Gabrielle in the back of her mind. She almost had to pretend that she was in the room with her, calming her down. "Although I can't say the same for his other sons." She shook her head thinking of those irresponsible reckless men. "But anyway," Hatima grinned. "I want to help you if I can."

Xena's mind began ticking. There still had to be a wedding and Xena hoped that would happen as soon as she returned from Rome and the others from Assyria. She didn't want to keep putting that off. She then smiled smugly and leaned in closer to the queen. "Well, there is something you can help me with." Hatima smiled nodding her head. "I am very busy with this campaign...I haven't had time to organize everything for their wedding so if you could..."

Hatima's face lit up. "I can do that!" she felt excited and Xena smiled, feeling a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She was never good at planning those types of things, and if this woman was willing to help then she wasn't going to turn that down. "I have planned five weddings for all of Samuel's sisters."

Xena's eyes widened. By the gods how many siblings does this young king have? Obviously it was a lot and none of these kids were Hatima's either. "Great," she grinned, "you can stay here if you'd like," she offered. She definitely was not going to turn away the king's mother, especially since she traveled so far to get here.

"That's kind of you," both women stood up and Xena really needed to get back to what she was doing earlier. "Thank you for allowing my son to stay here," she said politely.

"I sort of gave him no choice," Xena joked but then saw Hatima did not get her joke and her smile disappeared. "I want him to be around Eve," she saved herself and the queen smiled. Xena gestured for her to walk alongside her so she could stay in a room in the west wing.

Hatima walked with Xena down the long hallway and she smiled, "I can't wait to see your daughter." Xena smiled, feeling very prideful at the moment.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: some reminiscence of Twilight of the Gods in this. Enjoy ;)**

_Chapter 21 –Call of Destiny Part II_

_"My heart cried out for you over an ocean and your pain cried out for me across a wave."_

Underneath the Assyrian palace Solan and Allat were kept imprisoned. Eve, Gabrielle and Samuel came to see them and free them but Allat tried to warn them about the obstacles they encountered while being down here in this dark dungeon below the palace. The Romans seemed to have a bit of help, not like they needed it, but the Spartans from Greece were aiding Octavius to rise against Xena. Solan was sure that his mother had no idea about this problem and couldn't exactly write to her and tell her what was going on because he was arrested with Allat.

Xena's and Samuel's men were threatened by the Romans and Spartans. If they were to attack then Solan and Allat would die along with all of the Assyrian people in the kingdom. Allat couldn't afford that so he begged the Greek and Persian soldiers to refrain from attacking the Romans. When Eve, Gabrielle and Samuel arrived they were greeted with immediate threats but calmly explained that they wanted to see the prisoners. The Spartan general allowed them to see Solan and Allat, but little did they know that the Spartans were disguised as Romans and very well at that.

Once the three visited them the Spartans arrested them all and they were trapped in different cells below the palace. Solan and Allat were chained to the wall together in one cell. The cell next to them was Samuel who was also chained to a wall though his arms were high above his head, far more uncomfortable than everyone else's imprisonment. His arms were starting to become numb after three days of being in the confinement.

Eve and Gabrielle were given special treatment and in a cell on the far side of the dark dungeon, chained together with their backs against a pole, facing away from each other.

Solan sighed and looked at the Persian king who was trying to scratch his face with his tongue. "Hey Samuel, how's it going over there?" he asked sarcastically.

Samuel groaned, "just fine..." he grumbled. He kicked the ground with his boot and yelled out in anger. "We've been in here for three days!"

Allat rolled his eyes, "and we've been in here for weeks. How are we going to tell Xena about this?" he wondered. Solan blew some hair out of his face and twiddled with his thumbs out of boredom.

As the three men were talking among each other Eve sighed and banged her head against the pole. Gabrielle touched Eve's fingers, intertwining them with hers. "Eve, don't beat yourself up over this," she calmly said.

The princess frowned, "Gabrielle this is all my fault. I could have sent out a letter to my mother about the Spartans betrayal to the empire, but instead I was really stubborn and chose to fight against them. Now we're here...trapped." she looked up to the ceiling, feeling a bit hopeless.

"We came here as a team. We all failed, it's not fair for you to blame yourself alone," Gabrielle sighed and thought of Xena's reaction to all of this. She was definitely going to kill her once she found out that they were arrested especially since she promised that Eve would be in good hands. "Your mother is going to crucify me," she groaned.

Eve smirked, "now who's being too hard on themselves?" she retorted and Gabrielle frowned at the sassy remark. Eve shifted in her spot, no longer finding this armor very comfortable as she remained in it for the last three days. It was so stiff and constantly propped her back up as straight as possible. She glanced up and saw Samuel looking her way. They both smiled at each other and even though she could tell he was in a lot of pain she saw warmth in his eyes. He was very caring even in a horrible situation such as this.

A Spartan soldier came in and everyone turned to look at three soldiers that waltzed in. the soldier looked at Eve and Gabrielle's cell immediately. He walked over and snapped his fingers. One of the men opened the door and the women frowned at them. He smiled at Eve and pointed at her. "My general wants to see the Greek Princess," he smiled folding his large muscular arms. The two soldiers came towards Eve and her eyes widened.

Gabrielle frowned, "what for?" she asked.

The soldier grimaced, "none of your business," the soldier unlocked both of the chains and Gabrielle kicked the man in his groin and the Spartan growled and gripped Gabrielle's neck. "Don't try anything or she dies, understand?" he hissed. Gabrielle struggled to breathe and he let go of her neck. Eve's eyes were filled with fear and she wasn't foolish enough to try and fight back so she went with the Spartan soldiers willingly. She stared at Gabrielle as she was being chained back up again.

Solan frowned as he saw his sister being taken away. "Don't do anything for those pigs, Eve!" he called out and the Spartan kicked the cell door.

"Enough out of you!" he smiled kneeling down eye level to Solan. "Just wait until your mother hears about this," he winked and walked out behind Eve.

Instant panic set in as Samuel watched Eve being taken away from this awful place. He looked to Allat, "what are they going to do to her?" he felt his heart beat quicken out of nerves.

The Assyrian king sighed, "I don't know, but Eve is a smart woman." He smiled, "she will take care of herself."

The Persian king growled and squirmed, trying to break free of the chains. He began to sweat and breathed heavily. "this is my fault. I promised to keep her and Gabrielle safe and I failed," his head hung lowly as he pitied himself.

Solan looked at Samuel with a curious eyebrow. "So...are you and Eve a  _thing_  now?" he asked and Gabrielle lifted her head listening to their conversation. This was about to get awkward. She turned her head and saw Samuel's head lift to face Solan.

He was almost embarrassed. "Something like that," he mumbled and Solan didn't really like that answer. Eve was his little sister and from the last encounter with Samuel, he was quite cozy with her from what he remembered. "Your mother wants us to get married," he said.

Solan blinked in shock. "Excuse me?" he was now becoming irritated. "Why would she suggest a crazy idea like that?" he spat out. The Persian's cheeks reddened and he didn't want to face him. "Look at me!"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes at the immense amount of testosterone in this small room. "Eve is carrying his child," she said aloud and Allat blinked, not quite expecting that. Her voice was random and there was an awkward silence in the room.

"Wow," Allat said first, breaking the silence.

Solan lunged forward pulling his arms forward as far as he could but the chains prevented him from moving any further. "I'm going to kill you!" Samuel never felt so lucky to be in another cell until right about now. He saw the same fire in his eyes that Xena had. It was almost scary. Solan was more like his mother than Eve was at times, he saw it in his eyes and facial expressions.

Allat reached for Solan's arm and frowned. "Brother, you need to relax," he tried to calm him down the best he could.

Solan sat down against the wall once more as he continued glaring at the Persian king. "He impregnated my sister and you want me to  _relax_?" he growled at his dear friend next to him.

Samuel frowned, he didn't like the way he was talking about this situation. "It's not like we planned this!" he yelled turning to face Solan.

The blonde prince smirked, "obviously," he mocked. He frowned at the Persian, "when we get out of here I'm going to beat you senseless," that was a promise.

"Oh really?" Samuel challenged. "Well I'd like to see you –"

Gabrielle rattled her chains, " _enough_!" she shouted and everyone silenced themselves. "Nobody is going to beat anyone up," she exhaled audibly. "Instead of arguing with each other, we should be trying to find a way out of here," she used her common sense and Allat nodded, agreeing with her.

"Gabrielle is right. We need to work together not against one another," he nudged Solan's arm and the blonde grimaced. He called out to her, "got any ideas?"

Gabrielle sighed looking at the ceiling, "I'm working on it..." she felt a bit hopeless at the moment. Xena couldn't save them now since she had no idea what was going on and she would be leaving in the next week to Rome. She would be wondering where they were. Eve was their only hope since she was outside of the prison. "Xena, what would you do?" she whispered.

* * *

Xena was beginning to realize how much work Gabrielle actually did once she was gone. She had to organize all of her documents and parchments by herself for her trip to see Octavius in the coming week. Gabrielle usually did all of this for her and she always thought it was easy, but she realized it was quite a lot of work. So far she had organized ten documents in a matter of two hours. She was a lot slower than Gabrielle. Sighing she rested her head on her hands, feeling exhausted. Her reflection was right –she did take Gabrielle for granted.

A knock came to her door and she lifted her head. She didn't want to see anyone right now, but she had been waiting on news from Gabrielle, Eve and Samuel for nine days now. She hoped that it was a message from them. She told the person on the opposite side to enter.

A guard opened the doors and Xena blinked now her excitement was gone. There was no letter from them even after all this time. "What is it?" she tapped her fingers on the desk staring at the young man.

He cleared his throat bowing his head curtly, "Empress, Queen Hatima is asking for you. She wishes to see you," he said firmly and Xena raised an eyebrow. What could she want? She had been here for less than two days and though Xena didn't mind Samuel's mother being here, it was quite odd that she wanted to see her.

"Send her in," Xena sat up and he nodded, making way for Hatima to enter. The Persian queen smiled at him and stepped into the room. She saw Xena sitting at her desk, looking very casual and it appeared she was very busy she gathered by the stacks of parchment and scrolls piled up on the desk.

Hatima smiled at Xena and the guard closed the doors, startling her a bit. "I'm sorry if I am bothering you," she said politely.

Xena waved her hand, "I needed a break. You wanted to see me?" her voice hinted at a bit of curiosity. She gestured for her to sit down and Hatima sat down carefully, brushing her long hair out of the way before she sat in the chair opposite Xena.

She nodded, "yes I wanted to ask a few questions if you don't mind," she said and Xena curtly nodded, giving her way to speak. So she began, "I know you want me to help you with the wedding, but I..." she smiled nervously, "I'm afraid I don't where to begin!" she looked at Xena's blank face. "Where do you want it to take place?"

Xena rubbed the bridge of her nose, "anywhere. Outside, inside. It does not matter to me," she said calmly.

Hatima gathered that Xena was rather impatient with her so she decided to make this hasty, "and how far along is your daughter?" she asked and Xena lifted her head, her eyes widening.

"Well," Xena creased her eyebrows thinking that over for a minute. She tapped her finger on the desk and looked at the sweet Persian queen. "Almost four months or so," she smiled and Hatima nodded her head once again. "why do you ask?"

Hatima's green eyes lit up, "I was only asking because for one, I was curious and two, the fitting of her dress," she smiled and Xena now nodded, understanding. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I can see you're very busy," she pointed to the pile of documents. "You have not heard from them yet?" she asked seeing the angst in Xena's eyes.

The empress shook her head, "not yet, which is beginning to worry me. I trust Gabrielle is handling things," she hoped everything was going well and she had no choice but to put her trust in Gabrielle.

Hatima recognized that name. "Gabrielle," she tapped her chin, "I remember her. She is your blonde friend, yes?" Xena raised an eyebrow and Hatima smiled. "I have only seen her a few times. She is a good fighter from what I recall." She saw that Xena was rather unresponsive and it was getting a bit awkward. She stood up bowing her head curtly. "well, I will be on my way. Sorry to disturb you," she head for the doors and Xena leaned forward watching her saunter away.

"Hatima," she called out and the Persian queen turned around with a small grin. "Phraates...you know I had to kill him..." she felt a bit guilty for killing the woman's husband.

Hatima smiled shaking her head raising her hand, "Xena, you don't need to justify that to me. You did me a favor," she said and saw the empress smile weakly. "If you didn't do it I would have done it myself eventually." She said firmly which shocked the empress. "You gave my son the opportunity to rule as king and he is a good king to his people. He is fair, something his father never was." She silently thanked Xena and smiled before exiting the room.

Xena was expecting the queen to say something like that. She obviously did not like her own husband and resented him probably more than Xena could imagine. A favor? She thought that was an odd word to describe that. That woman was full of surprises, she noted. She suspected that Hatima had more influence in the Persian Empire than she was leading on.

* * *

Eve was brought into a room inside the Assyrian palace. The guards threw her in and there was blue gown laid out on the bed. She stared at it then turned to the Spartan men. "You won't get away with this," she grimaced. The Spartan smiled deviously at her then touched her cheek and she snapped her head away.

"Such a pretty face," he grabbed her cheeks firmly forcing her to stare into his dark eyes. "If the general didn't ask for you...I would have taken you for myself," he hissed and leaned in closer. Eve's eyes widened and she slapped his face. He pulled away and touched his cheek. He grinned, rubbing his jaw. "I'll remember that, princess," he winked and Eve cringed in disgust.

"When my mother finds out about your betrayal you'll lose both of your heads!" Eve spat folding her arms.

The Spartan chuckled, "we'll see about that. I'll be back in a few minutes to take you to my general. He wants you to wear that," he pointed at the gown and he winked. "I'm sure it'll fit you nicely..." he hissed and closed the door. Eve felt so violated at the moment. She really needed to think of a plan and wished her mother was here to save them all, but she wasn't and that was the sad reality of it all.

She picked up the blue gown and it reminded of her home. It was definitely a Greek design. She held it up to her body and sighed, thinking this was such a bad idea, but she had to pay along.

A few minutes later Eve stared at herself in the mirror, smoothing the dress against her body. Her hand came to the small life growing within her and she felt so irresponsible as a mother already. She couldn't help but blame herself for this mess she got them all into. "I'm sorry," she apologized aloud to her child and felt her eyes fill with tears.

"Don't be so glum, Evie," a voice appeared and Eve lifted her head recognizing that familiar voice. She looked into the mirror and saw Aphrodite standing behind her with a smirk on her lips.

Eve turned around and saw Aphrodite's smirk turn into a big smile. "Aphrodite?" she couldn't believe she was here before her. She hadn't seen her in a long time and was actually quite happy to see her. She smiled and hugged the blonde goddess. Aphrodite wrapped her arms around the princess and squeezed her tightly. "What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"I had a feeling that you might need my help," the goddess winked and Eve smiled up at her. "I hope you have a plan," she eyed the princess and saw her smile die.

"Not really..." Eve admitted sadly.

Aphrodite nodded, "I see. The Spartan general is waiting to see you. His name is Laconicus and he is tricky so you need to be alert."

Eve nodded understanding. "Forget about me, what about my brother, Samuel, Allat and Gabrielle? They're still trapped down there."

"This new selfless attitude is really refreshing Evie," Aphrodite smiled but then placed her hands on the princess's shoulders. "But you have someone else to think about now. Something that I had to remind your mother so long ago," she winked. Eve blushed and the goddess lifted her chin. "You will always have a special place in my heart, Eve." She kissed the top of her head. "Sometimes it is better to stay in the background instead of fighting the enemy," she whispered in her ear.

Eve eyed the goddess. "Since when did you get so philosophical?" she scoffed.

Aphrodite shrugged, "I guess listening to Gabrielle for years does that to you," she smiled and Eve's smile disappeared. Gabrielle was very smart obviously and her mother trusted her. She began to feel a bit guilty now. She should have listened to Gabrielle more instead of pushing her over like her opinion didn't matter. "Remember what I said to you, Eve."

"Wait, Aphrodite!" she called out and the goddess disappeared. The doors were opened and the awful Spartan was staring at her. She frowned at him and he grabbed her arm forcefully leading her out of the room.

* * *

Laconicus was sitting in Allat's throne waiting for Eve to arrive. His men brought her and she was wearing the gown he picked for her. Eve groaned and struggled as they held onto her arms tightly. He waved his hand and the men let go of her arms. She brushed her arms off and stared at the Spartan general. He was handsome, maybe a few years younger than her mother, but not by much. She eyed him carefully. "Leave us," he stood up and his men left the throne chamber. Now they were alone. Eve felt her heart beat quicken as he came closer to her.

He touched her wavy dark hair in between his fingers and smiled as he circled around her. "You have your mother's beauty," he said softly. "Though I sense that you are not like her at all..." he smelled her hair and Eve cringed.

"What do you want?" she asked in a calm voice, hiding her initial fears. Laconicus smiled almost laughing at her for asking such a question.

"Your mother enjoys playing games, I've watched her for several years," he whispered in her ear and Eve moved her face away from him. "No need to be shy around me, princess." He smiled. "I heard that Xena had a daughter but never imagined you would be as beautiful as you are right in front of me."

Eve felt the need to gag and her stomach began to churn at the thought of this man coming any closer to her. He touched her hip and her body stiffened as her eyes widened. "Why did you betray my mother and join the Romans?" she asked, hopeful to get some information out of him.

Laconicus grinned, "Octavius offered me land in exchange for my loyalty to him."

She frowned, "has my mother not been fair to you?" she asked and felt his hand come wrap around her waist, she turned to face him and he looked into her blue icy eyes. She gasped and blinked. "She allowed you to rule your area of Greece for many years."

He sighed, growing bored talking about this. "Your mother never paid any attention to the Spartans. We are the true Greeks, your mother is not even Greek. She is Thracian," his eyes narrowed. "She is a foreigner ruling our land."

"She is more Greek than many of the people within the empire..." she admitted and he smiled down at her, bringing her closer. She grinned nervously and pulled away."If you believe in the Greek empire why would you abandon your people to join the Romans? They are not of your own kind..." she used his own logic against him.

He nodded, "indeed they are not, but your mother has sided with the Persians. We both know that the Persians were the Greeks' enemy for hundreds of years. Why would she ally with them?" he leaned in closer and Eve frowned.

"Maybe she has learned that borders and culture are meaningless. We are all the same inside. It looks like you haven't learned that yet," she smirked. He grabbed her arm and brought her to the balcony. She frowned following reluctantly. Together they stepped onto the balcony and she saw an arena below outside the gardens of the Assyrian palace.

He pointed to the arena, "your friends are going to play a little game and if they win, you can take your prisoners back to Greece. If not...then they will be executed."

The thought of Gabrielle, Solan Allat and Samuel fighting one another seemed unfair. They would never dare fight each other since they were all friends and allies. Eve couldn't wrap her head around this, yet she was spared and she knew why. "And you're using me as bait for my mother..." she concluded.

"Smart girl," he grinned. "They won't be fighting each other, but fighting my men...my warriors." Eve didn't like the sound of that. "I'm sure you know that the Spartans are known for their combat skills."

"Yes..." Eve breathed slowly, trying to comprehend all of this. She turned to face the general, "and what do you plan to do with me?" she asked coyly.

"I'm glad you asked. You will watch the fight with me." He smiled.

Eve didn't like this at all. The thought of it all was making her sick. She didn't want to see her friends fight to the death and certainly didn't want Laconicus as company. Is this what Aphrodite meant by staying in the background? No, that couldn't be what she meant. She was too cryptic in her words for Eve to understand at the moment. Right now she didn't want to watch a death match or stand in the background.

"Tomorrow morning it begins," Laconicus grinned and Eve kept staring out at the arena, wishing this were all just a really horrible dream.

* * *

Xena fell asleep rather late in the evening and she was alone in her palace for the first time in such a long time. It was almost like it was twenty years ago when she had nobody here but herself with the exception of Hatima, but she didn't know her well.

She stirred in her sleep and felt someone's eyes on her. Slowly her eyes opened and saw the mirror image of herself laying down right next to her. She yelled and punched 'it' in the face then she groaned as her own nose began to throb. She had forgotten whatever pain she inflicted on the mirror image also was projected upon herself.

"son of a bitch," Xena mumbled and covered her nose. She really knew how to throw a punch. Her reflection too rubbed her nose and Xena frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Her mirror image sighed, "do you always greet people like that, or just me?" she smirked. Xena didn't find her humor amusing. "The answer to your question...I was just checking up on you."

Xena sat up in her bed and saw a bit of blood coming from her nose. "I don't need to be checked up on." She groaned and wiped her nose with the backside of her hand.

"Oh I think you do. You feel lost without Gabrielle, right?" the mirror image asked and Xena remained silent. "Afraid to show your emotions as usual." She sighed.

"No offense but I don't need advice from a copy of myself," Xena got up out of bed and went to her vanity to check her nose. She dabbed the blood with a cloth and saw her reflection sitting on the edge of the bed. This was just too creepy.

"I'm not a copy of you Xena, I  _am_  you. Your better half," she grinned and Xena turned around with a knowing look in her eyes. "The person you look at every day in the mirror is your true self, yet you keep her hidden away. Why is that?"

Xena shook her head, "I don't need to hide anything. I've always been the same person."

The mirror image laughed, "is that true?" she stood up and came behind Xena, touching her shoulder. Xena's body stiffened and she shrugged the hand off, stepping away. "Why are you so afraid of yourself, Xena?" she stepped closer and Xena backed up into a wall. "Stop running from who you have become, Xena."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Xena questioned, still not understanding.

The mirror image came closer to Xena and touched her hair gently. "You haven't noticed any changes in you since you took that elixir? I find that hard to believe." She grinned. "You are different, Xena. Even others have noticed and I'm not talking about your youthful appearance. The Olympians fear you, even Ares fears you."

Xena frowned, "he has no reason to be afraid of me. It's his fault that I am like this anyway," she grumbled.

"Is it? He didn't force you to use the elixir. You did it with your own free will," the reflection came closer to Xena's face. Xena fell silent as she knew that was too true, especially hearing come out of her own mouth. "You're on the brink of immortality Xena, can't you feel it?" her eyes widened as she stared in Xena's blue eyes. "Let me in so we can be whole again," she hissed and grabbed Xena's hands, squeezing them tightly. "I won't bite," she smiled.

Xena's eyes widened as she heard those words. Those words that were oh so familiar to her from so long ago.

_"Gabrielle! Gabrielle! That scary lady is outside and..."_

_"Lila we need to get out of here right away!" Gabrielle took a hold of her sister's hand and jumped out their window. Their parents were nowhere to be found right now. They were stopped by one of Xena's soldiers and their eyes grew with fear._

_"You're not supposed to be out here!" he said loudly throughout all the screaming and crying in the background. "Get out of here!" he told them_

_Gabrielle and Lila ran the other way trying to dodge everybody in their way. Lila's eyes couldn't be torn away from the horror before her. All her friends were being killed right in front of her and she couldn't do anything about it. They stopped behind a large tree and Lila still looked at her once called home._

_Gabrielle shielded her sister's eyes, "don't look Lila. Okay I want you to stay here and don't go anywhere. I'm going to find mother and father, understand?"_

_Lila nodded her head and Gabrielle left her side and crept behind houses to see if she could find her parents if she still had parents. She scanned the battlefield and saw Xena coming into the village dragging two men behind her and then she held her saber at a man's neck. A neck that she surely recognized –it was her father. Gabrielle wanted to run out to him, but she knew if she did this she would probably die and she cared about Lila too much to risk her life and leave her sister. Xena's sword plunged through her father's torso and she kicked his body to release her bloody sword._

_Gabrielle covered her mouth and now she couldn't get the image out of her head. She ran back to the tree where she left Lila, breathing heavily she hurried back to find Lila gone. She started to panic and call out to her sister but with all the chaos it was useless. She decided to wait behind the tree for the battle to be over, she covered her ears at the sounds._

_What seemed like an eternity later, there was dead silence besides the horses' galloping retreating back to the hill tops. Gabrielle looked out at the battlefield and saw Xena was rounding up her men and she spotted her hiding behind a tree. Gabrielle feared this woman, but at the same time she hated her for killing her family, her friends and Gods' knows what happened to Lila._

_"Come out little one, I won't bite," Xena reassured the young girl with a deceitful smile and wild eyes._

Xena's memory came rushing back to her and saw the look in the reflection's eyes. She pushed her away and grabbed her chakram off the wall. "You're everything that I used to be. Everything I used to hate about myself..." she was beginning to understand what was wrong with her. She pushed her dark side into the back of her mind for so long, completely ignoring it but never dealt with it face to face before.

"You try to deny who you really are, Xena but without me, you are incomplete, you are nothing without me!" she lunged at Xena and both of them tumbled down to the floor. Xena beneath the image and she saw the devious look in her reflection's eyes. "Submit to me!" she growled and Xena cringed then punched her in the face but this time it didn't affect her. Xena eyed her carefully, laying still watching her every move. The image laughed and wrapped her hands around Xena's neck, restricting her airway.

Xena watched the mirror image's eyes change from blue to a bright golden color and her face began to morph. Xena's eyes widened and she was no longer looking at an image of herself but at the Goddess of Chaos, Eris.

" _You_!" Xena hoarsely said and Eris' grin widened as her grip around Xena's neck tightened.

Eris grinned, "yes me again. So nice to see you Xena. I told you I would be back..." she chuckled. "You see, I told you that you won last time but now...it is my turn!" she hissed. Xena swung the chakram across Eris' arm and drew blood. The goddess gasped and let go of Xena's throat, holding onto her arm. Her arm began gushing out gold  _blood_  and she grimaced. Xena smirked and got off the floor then the goddess let out an ear piercing shriek, shaking the walls and tapestries fell of the walls. Xena covered her ears and closed her eyes, trying to block out the awful noise.

Eris stopped screaming and looked to her arm, blowing ice over it to clog the bleeding. "You cut me," she smiled. "I suppose that is why my brother is so afraid to come near you..." she twirled one of her dark locks around her finger. "You may be immortal now, but you are nothing like we gods are, Xena!" she came closer to her and Xena backed away, unsure if it was wise to swing at her again to risk sudden hearing loss.

"I didn't ask for this," Xena said calmly and turned to see the open balcony a few feet behind her.

"And I didn't ask to have Ares for a brother and Aphrodite for an older sister, but you can't choose your family can you?" she frowned folding her arms. "My brother has been a bit busy in Assyria you see," she smiled coming closer to Xena. She saw the fear in the empress's eyes. "The Spartan General has chosen to follow the path of Ares and I decided to do some scouting for myself." She stopped and Xena backed up against the railing of the balcony and Eris smiled deviously.

"It's not a surprise that a Spartan would follow Ares. They are ruthless," Xena said and the goddess nodded, agreeing with her.

Eris held up her finger, "yes but you see your little friends have been captured by the Spartans including your precious daughter," she smiled and Xena's eyes grew in anger and fear all at once. "Oh yes I've been watching Eve for awhile now. It is I who lured them all to Assyria, not Ares, but me!" she said almost like a child, pouting that she wanted to be better than her brother.

"You stay away from Gabrielle and Eve," Xena warned and held her chakram close to her ready to strike if necessary. She saw the goddess take a step back, almost fearful of the chakram.

She smiled, "no need to be violent Xena," she said sweetly. "Wouldn't want to damage that pretty face of yours..." she raised a brow and Xena snarled. "If you cooperate with me I won't harm your daughter."

Xena didn't trust this goddess, she was far worse than Ares not to mention she didn't know her motives or her next move at all. She was in unfamiliar territory right now. "Or her child," she added.

Eris tisked, "I didn't say I wouldn't harm the child." She saw the anger in Xena's eyes. "You see Xena, your grandchild needs to be gotten rid of. It is a threat to the Olympians!" her voice rose and she took a few steps closer to the empress.

Xena smiled, "you mean to tell me...the great gods of Olympus are scared of a... _baby_?" she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

The goddess grew in size and Xena blinked. "That thing is not a baby! It is a mockery of the Olympians no thanks to my sister's meddling!" Xena figured that Eris spoke of Aphrodite's intersession of Eve's conception.

She was able to calm herself down and stared at the empress with cold eyes and a menacing smile. "I will make sure that abomination does not see the light of day."


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: it is always so difficult yet fun to write battle scenes. Long chapter because a lot going on at once and good luck everyone. lol.**

_Chapter 22 –Four Mice, One Lion_

_"I never thought someone would ever see me, or make a prisoner of my heart but like a warrior dressed in armor you carved your name in it, right from the start. Now you are my prisoner, and I am your slave. We'd both stopped searching for any acceptance and I have no precious gifts to give you. I only have these words...I love you, still."_

The doors to the dungeon below the palace were opened and Gabrielle squinted her eyes from the bright light. She had no idea what time it was without windows it was hard to tell. Solan yawned and saw many Spartan soldiers coming to open the doors. Gabrielle's chains were unlocked and she rubbed her wrists and felt hope inside of her. Samuel was dropped to the floor and he groaned from the numbness in his arms. He didn't believe anyone could experience this kind of pain, but he was wrong.

Allat was manhandled by one of the soldiers and Gabrielle was ushered out of her cell. He smiled at her hopeful that Eve might have done something to free them all.

Samuel looked to one of the soldiers who hoisted him up and pushed him out of the cell. "Does this mean we're free?" he asked and the man laughed at him. Gabrielle lifted a curious eyebrow and felt like this wasn't freedom they were tasting, no it was something else. Maybe Xena decided to come to Assyria and free them after all? No, that couldn't be it. Xena had no idea what was going on in this palace. How would she get here? No, they were all alone still and Eve was still absent.

"I doubt it, Samuel," Solan grumbled and punched the Spartan in the jaw and he smirked. One of the other soldiers came to him and kicked Solan in his gut and he groaned, dropping to his knees, doubling over. "You...you're no better than the Romans," he spat out and the Spartan grinned down at him. Allat helped his friend up off the ground and linked arms with him.

Gabrielle was grabbed by one of the Spartans and she groaned, pulling her arm away. "Where are you taking us? Where is the princess?" she demanded an answer or she wasn't moving.

The Spartan sighed, "the princess is in good hands," he grinned deviously. He pulled Gabrielle along and pushed her up the stairs. "Get moving."

Solan walked alongside Samuel with Allat behind them. He grimaced at the Persian and Samuel avoided his glare. "Remember what I said Samuel..." he smiled and Samuel frowned at him, not pleased at his behavior.

"Your mother didn't react like you," the Persian retorted.

"Well Eve is not my daughter, she is my sister," he growled and Samuel rolled his eyes. "My mother probably wanted to skin you alive."

The Persian grinned mischievously, "actually, she was rather excited," he said proudly and that only enraged Solan more. Allat grabbed onto his friend's shoulder, squeezing tightly.

"Boys, we can settle this matter later, right?" he smiled hoping that would lighten the mood, but Solan shrugged his hand off and continued walking up the stairs pushing Samuel into the wall.

Allat sighed. Samuel brushed off his chest and stared at the Assyrian king, "he has a temper doesn't he?" he jested and Allat shrugged his shoulder casually.

"He is very much like his mother," Allat pat Samuel's back and head up the stairs. Samuel was coming to find out that Solan was more like Xena than Eve was, which was kind of scary to be honest. He didn't want to piss him off, although it seems that he already did that involuntarily.

"I'm beginning to see that," Samuel muttered under this breath.

The four were brought up to the first floor of the palace and suddenly were blind folded. Gabrielle gasped and struggled as she tried to pry the Spartan's hands off of her but he restrained her hands as soon as he tied the cloth around her eyes.

"Bihaq al-jaheem!" Allat cried out in his native language and swung his fist at a soldier, though missed and the Spartan punched him in his jaw. He groaned, rotating his jaw trying to relieve his pain.

Samuel growled equally trying to struggle to be free from the two Spartans holding onto him. "khook az jahneem," he spat blindly at the Spartan traitors.

Solan frowned, "can we stick to one language?"

Gabrielle was the only one chuckling in this awful situation. She translated the kings' words and Solan felt a bit out of the loop not skilled in Persian or the Assyrian language. "Samuel is right, you are all pigs!" she growled and she felt a large spear come to the middle of her back pushing her forward.

"Shut up, all of you!" the Spartan demanded.

* * *

Laconicus waited up in the balcony above the arena. Eve sat next to him and she was obviously on high alert. He could sense her nerves even from far away. He touched her hand and she snatched it away, frowning at the general. He smiled and grabbed an apple from the tray, presenting it to her. "Fruit?" he offered.

"I'd rather eat dirt," Eve retorted and he shook his head, taking a bite out of the apple. Though the crunching sound of the fruit was rather enticing. She hadn't had a proper meal in days now and she could feel her stomach churning, curling in on itself from the pain of hunger. Her hand came to her stomach and thought of what Aphrodite said to her. She was selfless, but at this moment, she didn't need to be. She was right, she had someone else to think about, but how could she with everything happening? The princess felt her head throbbing, wishing her mother were here to solve this issue.

Her hand was reaching for a peach and Laconicus watched her, but then she heard the crowd yelling and she turned her attention to the arena below them. She stood up leaning over the railing. She saw Gabrielle, Solan, Allat and Samuel being ushered to the middle of the arena all blind folded. She felt her body stiffen seeing them all standing blindly. They had no idea what was happening and here she was, unable to help them all.

"I hope this is quick," the general said and received a menacing glare from Eve. "Sit down and relax, princess." He winked and Eve remained standing, watching them all back to back, still blind folded.

"By the gods, this is awful," she whispered lowly.

* * *

Gabrielle felt her arm touch one of the men she was surrounded by. She heard a lot of cheering and yelling. "Where are we?" she asked.

Solan touched Gabrielle's hand, making sure she was next to him. "I don't know, but it can't be good."

Allat knew exactly where they were and this was all a sick game. "We're in my arena," he said solemnly.

Samuel gasped, "excuse me? Arena?" he groaned, "these Spartans are obviously looking for a fight."

"So why don't give them one?" Solan smiled.

Gabrielle took off the blind fold and saw thousands of people staring at them. "By the gods," she looked around and her eyes burned from the bright sun beaming into her eyes. She looked up and saw Eve standing looking down at them all. She had a fearful look in her eyes and there was...Laconicus, the Spartan General. The other men took off their blind folds and their eyes wandered around.

"Whoa," Solan said. "This brings back some painful memories," he said lowly. He remembered when he fought his mother many years ago in the Roman arena, though he didn't know she was his mother at the time. He was ready to kill her. What is this? What kind of a sick game were the Spartans up to?

Gabrielle nodded, "agreed," her own memories fighting in the arena per Xena's request many years ago flourished in her mind. She would never forget that, but everything was different now. Xena was different now, that was the past and it was an awful past, she chose not to dwell in it. she smelled something wrong with this picture. "Is he expecting us to fight each other?" she wondered, raising her eyebrow as she continued to look at the crowd, yelling at them all.

"I'm not going to fight anybody," Samuel said standing his ground.

"Me neither," Allat said in agreement with the Persian. He smiled at him and Samuel weakly grinned back at him.

Solan folded his arms and saw the gates open and two Spartans on horses came riding in. "I doubt we will be fighting each other, guys." Everyone turned to see the two Spartans but then out of the other three corners more horsemen came out, fully decked in armor and held jousting spears.

Gabrielle grabbed Solan's hand tightly, "this is an unfair fight..." she snarled.

Two Spartan soldiers threw measly weapons at them on the sandy ground. There was a staff with no spear head, a dull blade, a scythe and a shield, which technically wasn't a weapon at all. The soldiers ran back behind the gates and closed them waiting for Laconicus to declare the fight.

Each person picked up their weapon of choice. Gabrielle chose the staff, Solan the blade, Allat the scythe and that left Samuel with a large Roman shield. "They're crazy if they think we'll win with these weapons," Allat said.

The Persian scoffed, "speak for yourself! All I have is a shield!"

Solan smirked, "anything can be a weapon, Samuel. You just have to know how to use it," he turned to him and the Persian looked so confused. "My mother taught me that."

Gabrielle was getting tired of these two. "Would you two shut up?" she said and they both remained silent and Allat smiled, silently thanking Gabrielle. "We need to think of a plan. We can't take them all at once." There were six men on horses and only two had javelins. "We need to take out the ones with the spears first," she gestured to the two on horses in front of them.

"How will we do that? We're out numbered," Samuel said and although it was obvious, Gabrielle frowned.

She turned to the king, "it's called teamwork."

Solan chuckled, "and you want to marry into this family?" he chided. Samuel narrowed his eyes at the blonde prince.

* * *

Laconicus stood up raising his hand and the crowd died down, taking their seats. Eve stood beside him and saw the fear in all of their eyes in the arena. This wasn't a fair fight, but she knew that it wouldn't be. She just wished she could have warned them before hand.

The general waved his hand to commence the fight and his men below saluted to him and started circling around the four in the middle. Eve sat down on the edge of her seat, almost not wishing to watch.

"This is a sport that dates back hundreds of years in Sparta. I'm sure you're familiar with it?" he smiled at the princess but she refused to answer his question.

"My mother is going to kill you," she turned to the general with a menacing glare. "And the Roman Emperor too," she smiled smugly.

Laconicus laughed, "she should have killed him years ago! But she couldn't because she was too busy bathing herself in pride," he drank some wine.

Eve smiled, "don't underestimate her. She has changed but she will gladly take your head as a trophy."

"On the contrary princess, I never underestimated your mother but she is old and worn out now. Where is she? Not here, is she?" he snickered and Eve frowned, turning her attention back to this awful 'sport'.

* * *

Xena stared at the goddess as she held the chakram close to her ready to attack. Eris had an eerie grin upon her lips which made Xena sick to look at. "You touch her, you die." She said firmly. "That's a promise."

Eris grinned, "unlike you, I can pop in to any place. Maybe if you think hard enough you can  _imagine_  you are there in Assyria," she laughed aloud at her own joke. Xena didn't find it amusing. "I understand you are about to make a trip to Rome to see the emperor, yes?" she hissed. Xena remained silent, refusing to give information to this goddess. "I know you want to go to Assyria to help your family but you also have to see Octavius or he will obliterate your navy." She tapped her cheek churlishly. "What a predicament you are in, Xena," she grinned evilly.

"I can always find more men," Xena said and the goddess chuckled.

"you are willing to risk your entire army to save your family?" she stepped closer to her. "Doesn't sound like the changed Xena..." she hissed. "Alas, you can't save everyone, can you?" she winked at the empress.

Xena brought her chakram up and Eris stepped back, fearful of the thing. She grinned, "don't like that do ya?" she teased and came closer. The goddess frowned and disappeared to the opposite side of the room.

"Don't toy with me, Xena. You are not in the position to play games with me!" she challenged. "Your blonde friend, girlfriend, wife, whatever you want to call her, is in a life or death situation and you want to slay little ol' me?" she chuckled and saw Xena's fill with hate and anger. "Yeah, that's right, get angry. It suits you."

Xena recognized some similarities between Eris and her brother, Ares. Though, she was far more annoying than he was or is. She too was driven off of hate which shouldn't be a surprise –goddess of chaos didn't come from rainbows and kisses. Her and Ares were quite a team but Xena suspected that Eris was keeping secrets from her older brother.

"So...you and Ares," Xena grinned, playing this game with the goddess. She needed to make a decision and of course the obvious one was to go to Assyria and help her family and friends, but she probably wouldn't make it in time. "You two working together?" she pried.

Eris scoffed, rolling her golden eyes. "As if. I can't work with my brother. He is very bossy," she said and eyed Xena with a mysterious grin. "Fishing for answers huh? Look Xena, I don't care about you like my brother does. It's Eve I care about and that child..." she balled her fist up. "It needs to be destroyed."

Xena circled around and Eris remained a very good distance. "Why are you so afraid of a child?" she smirked.

"I am not afraid. That  _thing_...inside of your daughter, is going to ruin everything on Olympus." She folded her arms lifting her chin glaring at the empress.

"I think you Olympians are drinking too much of Bacchus' wine," Xena smiled, almost wanting to laugh hearing Eris' end of days story.

Eris rolled her eyes, "make jokes if you want Xena, but you will see...you will see," she grinned. "Anyway, it seems you have a choice to make," she held up her palms raising her left one first. "Go to Rome," then rose her right palm, "or go to Assyria." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Either way you lose because Octavius is expecting you in a few days and you'll never make it to Assyria in time to save your family." She saw the malice in Xena's eyes and laughed, "well it's been fun, I have business to attend to," she waved before Xena could grab her and disappeared, her laughter trailing behind.

Xena groaned, frustrated at herself. The obvious choice was to go to Assyria, but Eris was right, she wouldn't make it there in time to save them. She couldn't care less about Octavius. He always wanted everything on his time. He can wait, she thought.

A knock came to her bedroom door and she was a bit startled. She readied her ground in case something burst into her room. "Empress, are you alright? We heard some loud crashes from your room," the young guard said and Xena sighed, lowering her chakram.

She took a good look at her room and all the tapestries were on the floor and a few statues knocked over. "No everything is fine," she called out and it was silent. "Actually," she hastily went and opened the door. "Could you ready my horse for me?" she smiled and the young soldier nodded his head running down the stairs hastily. She closed the door and exhaled deeply.

"Xena," a voice was heard in her room and Xena spun around with the chakram ready to attack. Aphrodite's eyes widened and she lifted her hands for surrender. "Whoa..."

Xena was beginning to feel very paranoid and she grumbled, lowering her stance. "Aphrodite...don't sneak up on me like that."

The goddess grinned, "I'll make sure to remember that..." she looked around the room and it was quite a mess. "I see my sister came to see you," she sighed drastically.

"I don't have time to talk Aphrodite, I need to go to Assyria." Xena took off her gown and changed into her armor, slipping on her pants and boots first.

The love goddess averted her eyes as Xena was changing. "I'm aware of what's going on in Assyria," she said aloud and Xena halted, staring at her curiously. The goddess turned and smiled. "I came to help you travel to your family," she winked and Xena never felt so relieved to see Aphrodite in her life until this moment. The empress grinned at the blonde goddess.

* * *

Solan and Allat were back to back staring at the two horsemen carrying javelins. "So we go for the legs?" Solan asked. Allat nodded. Gabrielle and Samuel remained in the middle, sticking close together watching the other horsemen circling around them creating a sand cyclone. Samuel shielded his eyes from the sand with his arm and Gabrielle knelt behind his shield.

"We can't stand here forever," Gabrielle said.

Samuel coughed, "I know! But we need to wait for Solan and Allat to disable those horsemen." He peered over the shield and saw an arrow coming straight for them. He gasped and knelt behind the shield. Gabrielle saw an arrowhead pierce through the shield an inch away from her shoulder and her eyes widened in fear. "This shield is a piece of shit," he grumbled.

Solan ran to the left side of one of the horsemen and Allat created a distraction. He waved his hands, "hey over here, pig!" he shouted with a smile. The Spartan growled and kicked the horse coming right for him. He steadied his stance holding the scythe ready to attack. "come on Solan..." he frowned.

Solan swung the dull blade across the back of the horse's legs and tore a few tendons. The horse reared on its hind legs falling over on its side along with the rider. Allat smiled and swung the scythe at the fallen Spartan but he blocked the blow with his javelin and the scythe broke in half. The Assyrian's eyes widened. "Shit," he said aloud and the Spartan kicked him down on the ground. Solan turned and saw the other horseman coming towards him and he panicked, running from him and saw the Spartan walking towards Allat as his friend lay on the sand in pain, holding his midsection.

He grabbed the broken scythe and stabbed the Spartan in the neck and he cried out in agonizing pain, trying to cover his wound as blood spewed from his veins. Solan grabbed the Spartan's javelin and then grabbed a hold of Allat's hand, hoisting him up to run from the horseman riding towards them.

"Thanks brother," Allat smiled and they ran towards the opposite side of the arena.

"You can thank me later," the Greek prince said and handed the spear to his friend. He looked behind them and saw the Spartan ready to strike the javelin. He yelled at Allat, "go left and I'll go right!"

"What?!" Allat protested and Solan groaned running the other way. The Spartan halted his horse as the two split in opposite directions.

In the center of the arena Gabrielle and Samuel were still protected by the shield as the horsemen continued to shoot arrows at them. "We need to move!" she said and Samuel looked around, afraid to lift his head.

"How? They've surrounded us!" he saw an arrow come close to his boot and panicked. He saw Gabrielle's staff and had an idea. "Give me the staff," he said and Gabrielle looked at him like he was crazy. "Just give it to me!" he demanded and she handed him the wooden staff. "Use the shield to get out of here," he said and she stared at him blankly.

"Samuel I don't think –"

He frowned, "just go!" he pushed her forward and she sighed, picking the shield up and ran away from the center, blocking the arrows coming for her. Samuel stood with the staff in the middle of the arena and the horsemen turned their attention towards him forgetting about Gabrielle. He twirled the staff and the Spartans laughed at him and stood in a semi-circle around him, pulling their arrows back. He took a fighting stance and moved back a bit to see the entirety of the attack. He had trained all his life for this but never got to use his skills in real combat.

The arrows came for him and he twirled the staff, knocking the arrows out of his way swiftly. The Spartans frowned and readied their bows again. The Persian smiled at them ready for another attack.

Gabrielle ran and dropped the shield breathing heavily. She saw Samuel blocking the arrows and she thought that was quite skillful. She had no idea he possessed such a skill. Her eyes then looked to her right and saw Solan and to her left was Allat, running from horsemen carrying large clay-mores. Her eyes traveled up at the balcony and Eve sat, leaning over the railing looking very nervous. She smiled at the princess and Laconicus seemed to be enjoying himself.

* * *

Laconicus rubbed his chin and looked at Eve. "Your friends are very resourceful..." he gathered.

Eve frowned, "you underestimated them?" she looked ahead and saw Samuel in the middle trying to defend himself against three archers on horses. She knew that Solan and Allat were definitely used to this sort of game and Gabrielle was a master at it, but Samuel surprised her. She didn't know how long he would be able to keep that up though.

He saw who she was staring at and knew that look anywhere. "The Persian," he began and Eve froze, "he is yours?" he grinned sneakily. She chose to remain silent and he didn't need an answer to justify his suspicions. "There's only one of him and three archers. His chance at surviving is slim," he said casually and Eve frowned, glaring at the general.

"No matter, he will be eliminated soon enough," Laconicus thanked the maiden as he took another glass of wine. Eve sighed, rubbing her forehead, beginning to sweat.

Eris appeared in the balcony, unknown to the two. She stood next to her brother, Ares, as they watched the battle below. "These mortals and their petty games," she rolled her eyes in disgust.

Ares grinned, "I enjoy these games. It shows the true potential of humans," he folded his arms as he stood behind Laconicus overseeing the arena. Eris stood behind Eve and he peered over at his sister. "Still scared of her?" he smirked.

"It's not her, it's that thing inside her," Eris cringed. Children, she hated them so, especially if they threatened her very existence in this world. She mischievously grinned at her brother, "I paid a little visit to your warrior queen," she hissed.

Ares frowned, "haven't you learned to stay away from Xena by now?" he gestured to the scar on her arm from Xena's little attack.

The goddess flipped her dark hair and covered her arm, "that was a little slip up on my part," she defended herself. "I don't care about Xena, Ares. You know this." She frowned, "but Aphrodite, she needs to keep her love out of war."

Ares grinned, chuckling softly, "you can't have war without love, Eris!" he shook his head at his little sister's ignorance. "She is no threat to us. I wouldn't worry about her."

Eris snuffed her brother and placed a hand on Eve's shoulder smiling down at her. The princess shivered and looked behind her but the goddess' appearance was unknown to her. Eve frowned and turned back around to watch the fight below. Eris' ears perked up and she heard the heartbeats come from within Eve's body and then her frown deepened as she listened further. Ares eyed his sister confused at her suddenly confused expression.

"What are you doing?" Ares asked.

Eris balled her fist up, her fingernails digging into her palm. "She carries two brats in her!" she growled and Ares blinked, not the least bit fazed.

"Xena is going to have fun with that one," Ares snickered.

Eris grabbed hold of Ares and shoved him into the column. "you fool! We're all going to die because of those...abominations!" she spat and Ares frowned. Eris took a step closer to the balustrade of the balcony and saw the four putting up quite a fight against the Spartans. She eyed the Persian who was still fighting the archers. She smiled and twirled her fingers slowly.

Ares watched her and then looked out into the arena and saw sand begin to swirl in the arena slowly. "Eris..." he warned. Eris kept twirling her fingers and smiled as she saw the sand begin to swarm the entire arena, blocking everyone's sight. "You're insane."

She grinned and blew against her palm and the small cyclone of sand turned into a massive storm, swarming the crowd as well. She chuckled as she watched everyone scream in panic. Eve coughed, covering her eyes from the sand whirling in the balcony, the small glass scraping her skin.

Down below Allat shielded his eyes from the sand and wrapped his arm around Gabrielle, protecting her from the storm. "There is no wind in the air!" he yelled.

Gabrielle covered her eyes and tucked herself close to Allat's body. "This is not normal weather..." she gathered. "Other forces are at work here."

"Your gods I presume?!" he yelled through the loud sand swirling around them.

Eris grinned and held up her hand, closing her fist and the sand storm ceased, though a large cloud lingered. The sand began to wither away and the crowd was quiet. "You like to watch mortals play these stupid games and I like to play  _my_  own games..." she winked at Ares.

* * *

Solan lifted his head and saw the storm had dissipated. He stared at Samuel and smiled at him, thankful to see he was alive. He saw Allat and Gabrielle in a separate corner, still alive as well. Looking up he saw Eve sitting with the Spartan General and frowned, though he was glad she was alive.

He ran to the Persian and lifted him up, running away from the middle of the arena. "Good job staying alive, buddy," he grinned and Samuel smiled weakly, not sure if that was a compliment or not. He picked up a javelin from a fallen Spartan and gave it to him. "I think you will need this."

"Thanks..." Samuel twirled the spear in his wrist and saw two more horsemen coming towards them. They both gasped and ran the opposite way.

Gabrielle stood up and saw Solan and Samuel running away from the horsemen. She saw Solan trip and fall. She frowned and snatched the javelin from Allat's hand making a run for it. Allat's eyes widened in fear. "Gabrielle, no!"

Samuel turned around and saw Solan on the ground, but didn't understand why he wasn't getting up then looked at his leg. A whip was wrapped around it. groaning he wanted to turn back but the other horseman was riding straight towards him. He then saw Gabrielle running with a javelin in her hand. He stood still watching as if in slow motion.

Gabrielle stabbed the Spartan soldier in the side and he cried out, turning towards her, he saw a smile on her face. He growled and pulled out his blade and swung swiftly, cutting her arm. She held onto her arm wincing at the pain. Solan unwrapped his leg from the whip and jumped up on the Spartan, knocking them both off the horse and onto the ground, wrestling him, he punched the soldier in the jaw and the Spartan head butted Solan with his helmet. Solan groaned, holding his head as it began to throb. His vision was blurred and saw Gabrielle. "Go!" he cried.

The blonde frowned and saw the Spartan's sword laying in the sand, free to take. She grabbed it and came towards them as the Spartan began to choke Solan. She stood behind the soldier and stabbed him through his armor in his heart.

The Spartan began coughing up blood and she took the sword out and the sands were drenched in a dark red now. Solan stood up and felt blood dripping from his head. "Gabrielle, when I say go...don't stand there," he smiled.

Gabrielle grinned, "and let him kill you? Not a chance," she stared in his eyes that so reminded her of Xena's.

A loud cry was heard from Samuel not too far from them. The Spartan horseman had sliced through the Persian's leg and he fell to the ground, clutching his leg. Solan frowned and took the sword from Gabrielle running to help him. Allat finally caught up to Gabrielle and breathed heavily. "Gabrielle..." he exhaled deeply, "you're almost as crazy as Xena."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she smiled then saw a Spartan running towards them and they didn't have any weapons. She looked to Allat and both ran together away from the soldier.

* * *

Eve gasped as she saw Samuel on the ground hurt and her brother coming to help him. She gripped the armrests tightly as she watched. She hoped that Solan was going to make it on time.

Laconicus smiled, "this is getting interesting."

A few screams were heard from the other side of the second story of the arena and he saw his guards being flung over the side of the wall, falling to their deaths. He frowned and grabbed his sword, standing up he saw the curtains sliced off the columns and his guards yelling, then being flung over the wall once again.

Eve raised an eyebrow, though not afraid she heard footsteps and the curtain fell blocking her view. She saw a blade slice through the fabric and Xena stepped forward wearing her black armor with her red cape behind her. She smiled, so thankful to see her.

Xena smiled at her daughter then glared at the Spartan General. "You should really hire better guards," she said lamely and sheathed her sword. "Call off this ridiculous game."

Laconicus smiled, shocked to see Xena. "Empress...what a surprise to see you here." He took a step back and Xena grabbed Eve's hand pulling her close to her body and Eve stood behind her mother, using her as a shield.

"Yes I imagine you're very excited to see me," Xena's eyes widened wildly as she smiled at the Spartan. She looked below in the arena and saw Gabrielle and Allat trying to defend themselves as they were weaponless. Gabrielle using her handy combat skills while Allat dodged every attack from the soldiers. Xena's heart stopped as she saw Gabrielle in this environment once more. Solan was dragging Samuel off to safety. She frowned and unsheathed her sword, pointing it at Laconicus.

"Stop this madness now!" she demanded and Eve gripped onto Xena's shoulder almost like a child fearing the enemy.

He grinned, "and stop all the fun? Xena..." he grabbed a torch and Xena remained in fighting stance, watching his every move. He lit the curtains on fire and then threw the torch into the audience. The wooden benches began burning and he jumped over the balcony to run through the tunnels inside the arena.

Xena growled and ran to the railing to see Laconicus escaping. She cursed to herself then a part of the ceiling collapsed behind her. She turned around and jumped over the burning debris. She grabbed Eve's hand and ran down the corridor. Eve smiled as she ran beside her mother, despite the chaos ensuing around them. "I'm so glad to see you, mother!"

Xena smiled, "I'm glad to see you are safe," they ran down the stairs and came to an opening. She pushed Eve forward. "Wait by the sea and don't argue with me," she demanded. Eve was in no position to argue nor did she want to. She ran off and Xena frowned, hearing the wooden bleachers above creaking and cracking as the fire had spread drastically. She ran through a tunnel to find an entrance to the battlegrounds.

* * *

Gabrielle punched a Spartan in his jaw then kneed him in the groin then kicked him to the ground. She breathed heavily then looked around to see the entire arena was up in flames. "Umm..." she looked at Allat who just broke a Spartan's arm and she cringed. "We need to get out of here."

Allat breathed heavily then looked up, "oh yeah...probably," he scanned the area and saw these soldiers weren't giving up. "Don't these guys ever quit?" he was beginning to feel worn out. His arms were sore and blood seeped from his leg. Gabrielle's arm wasn't holding up well either.

Samuel laid on the ground as he was unable to move his leg. Solan was able to fight off the Spartans as long as possible. He sliced through the soldier's chest and kicked him to the ground. Though, through the gates more Spartans came out. He looked up to see they were surrounded by fire. "This is not good," he shook his head.

"There's too many of them..." Samuel said wincing in pain as he tried to stand. Solan wrapped his arm around him and helped him stand. "We're going to die here."

Solan groaned as they began to hobble away, "don't think about that right now." A Spartan came towards them and Solan closed his eyes waiting to be struck by his blade. Though he heard the soldier cry out and fall to the ground. Opening one eye he saw his mother pulling her blade out of the man's backside. He grinned, so thankful to see her. "Mother!" he exclaimed and Samuel turned his head to indeed see Xena. "How did you get here?"

Xena placed her hand on her son's shoulder, "ask me later." She looked at the badly wounded Persian and frowned, "get him out of here. Eve is waiting by the coast." She smiled at them both and ran off to help Allat and Gabrielle.

Gabrielle and Allat put their fists up ready to fight once more as three Spartans came running towards them. Burning debris fell from above and Gabrielle felt her heart race basically watching as the place concaved around them.

Xena ran through coming from the side and sliced through a Spartan's torso, splitting his body in half. Gabrielle's eyes widened. "Xena!" she grinned and ran to hug her tightly. She pulled away staring in her blue eyes, " _how_?" she creased her eyebrows bemused at her appearance.

"Aphrodite. Long story," Xena smiled and saw Gabrielle had a large gash on her left arm and a wound on her forehead. "Gabrielle..." she touched her cheek and the blonde smirked.

"Just a scratch," Gabrielle shrugged, smiling at the empress.

Allat came to Xena and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Xena you are a goddess," he kissed her hand and Xena rolled her eyes. These men and their polite manners.

The Spartan soldiers came at them and Xena turned, pointing her blade at them. Their eyes grew in fear as they saw the caped woman was their empress. "Run. Now." She smiled deviously and they ran away in the opposite direction. Gabrielle laughed at the cowardly men and the empress sighed. "Fools."

She grabbed Gabrielle's hand, "we need to get out of here," the three ran out from the arena through a series of tunnels. Gabrielle always had trouble keeping up with Xena, especially since she was so exhausted. She had been jailed for days with little to no food and now this impromptu battle.

"What did you do with Laconicus?" Gabrielle asked ducking her head from the falling debris.

"He got away," Xena frowned, leading the way, rounding tight corners, never letting go of Gabrielle's hand the entire way.

* * *

Finally making it out of the palace walls, they stopped and saw Solan hobbling along with Samuel, not getting very far at all. Allat grinned shaking his head. "And he wanted to kill him the other day."

Xena frowned, "what?"

Gabrielle blinked grabbing a hold of Xena's arm, "never mind that," she grinned and Xena was very confused.

Xena took a Roman horse and told Solan to put Samuel on it to travel faster to the coast where her ship awaited them all. Gabrielle walked with Xena towards the sea and Gabrielle turned to see Allat was not following behind.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Gabrielle asked. Xena turned awaiting for Allat to come.

He shook his head, "no this is my home. My people need me here, you've both done so much for me already," he bowed his head at the two women.

Xena smiled, admiring his bravery. He had always been very strong willed since she met him long ago when his mother was still alive. "I will leave my ships and men here with you," she said.

Allat's mouth gaped. "Xena, I can't take your offer –"

"It wasn't an offer," Xena said firmly and the Assyrian King smiled, nodding his head.

"Thank you," he saw them walk off together, Gabrielle clinging to Xena closely. "Make sure Solan doesn't beat up Samuel," he teased.

Xena frowned, turning her head and Gabrielle turned Xena's face around. "What is he talking about?" she asked, still confused.

Gabrielle grinned tightly, "nothing," she pat Xena's arm. Xena pursed her lips but did not want to ask any questions.

* * *

The sun began to set as they sailed back to Greece Gabrielle was on the deck overlooking the peaceful ocean. She felt Xena come close to her and her fingers grazed her wounded arm. "Let me take care of this for you," Xena offered. Gabrielle shook her head.

"I'm fine, really. Samuel is the hurt one," she smiled.

"I already patched up his leg." She grabbed Gabrielle's hand. "Don't be stubborn now," she grinned and the blonde scoffed.

" _I'm_  stubborn?" she said disbelievingly, since Xena was the stubborn one.

Below the deck in one of Xena's lavish quarters Gabrielle sat on the bed as Xena took off her cape and washed her hands in a water basin. She grabbed a cloth, bandage, herbs and a needle. Xena knelt down on the floor and began dabbing Gabrielle's wound. "I knew something was wrong when I didn't receive a letter from you," she said softly.

Gabrielle sighed, "it happened so fast. We didn't know the Spartans were working with the Romans."

"I'll have to deal with them later," Xena said and Gabrielle winced. "Sorry," she grinned and dipped the cloth in the water, squeezing out the diluted blood. "Being in an arena must have brought back some unwanted memories for you," she lowered her eyes paying attention to Gabrielle's wound.

The blonde smiled at Xena's empathy towards her. "It just reminded me of how far you – _we_  have come. Together."

"you four seem to put up quite a fight," Xena smiled and rubbed some herbs inside of Gabrielle's wound.

The blonde nodded, "I think so. We'd make a good team," she joked. "Not as good as you and I, though," she smiled and Xena smirked, looking up in her green eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be on your way to Rome?"

Xena bit off some thread and began threading the needle. She grazed the needle over a lit candle and grabbed her arm tightly. "I'd travel across a thousand oceans to save you and my children, Gabrielle." She smiled and gently dug the needle in her arm. Gabrielle grinned at Xena's sudden warmth towards her. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Xena like this, probably years ago when Eve was a child.

After finishing sewing the wound up Xena pat Gabrielle's arm. "All finished," she grabbed the dirty water basin and herbs. Gabrielle grabbed Xena's wrist and their eyes met, staring as if time stood still. Gabrielle leaned in and kissed Xena's lips softly. Pulling away she saw initial shock in Xena's eyes. "What was that for?"

"A thank you," Gabrielle blushed and saw the empress smile warmly at her. Xena stood up and placed the items on a table. She extended her hand to Gabrielle.

"I want to check on Samuel and Eve, come with me?" she pleaded.

Gabrielle grabbed her hand, "I don't think I'm going to leave your side to go on another adventure alone again," she joked and together they left the room to a separate smaller room in the back of the ship.

* * *

Xena opened the door and saw Samuel asleep, propped up against some pillows and his leg resting on a few blankets. Eve was asleep next to him with her arm draped over his body. Gabrielle peered behind Xena and saw the two sleeping on the bed together.

"Too much excitement for them," Xena whispered.

Gabrielle nodded, "I'm just glad that Eve is safe." She felt responsible for her safety and ultimately failed. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep her from harm's way."

"Gabrielle, I don't blame you. There were a lot of obstacles in your way. What matters now is that everyone is safe," Xena smiled and Gabrielle leaned into her.

"I'm happy to be going home. Remind me to never leave again, okay?" Gabrielle linked arms with her consort.

Xena smiled, "just one thing," she whispered. "Octavius is going to be livid once he finds out that I foiled Laconicus plans."

"Oh yeah," it donned on Gabrielle that there still was technically a war going on between the two empires and now the Spartans betrayed the Greek Empire which only caused more problems and possibly a rift between the Athenians and Spartans. "Are you still going to meet with him?"

The empress nodded, "of course I am," she grinned slyly. "But for now, let's focus on getting home." She closed the door allowing the two to sleep soundly. "But you're coming with me to Rome," she pointed at the blonde.

Gabrielle smiled widely, "it'll be like old times!" she laughed and Xena raised an eyebrow. "I mean...in a good way, not meeting Octavius again, bad kind of...way." She weakly smiled and Xena chuckled lowly. "See I knew you'd understand."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Late the following morning Samuel woke up now feeling the full of effects of his wounded leg. He looked down and saw Eve sleeping next to him. He tried to readjust slowly careful not to wake her but she stirred in her sleep. Cursing to himself he saw Eve lift her head, staring up at him with sleepy eyes. She smiled at him and he raised his eyebrows.

"Good morning," she greeted him warmly and ran her fingers through her wavy locks. Lifting herself up she saw the sun wasn't as bright which meant that it was definitely not early in the morning. She looked down at his leg and frowned. "How do you feel?"

He shrugged, "I'm alright. Your mother did a good job dressing my leg," he smiled. She was glad to hear that, but she still was concerned, but decided not to talk about it more, only because she knew it'd annoy him. He wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his chest. "But, how do you feel? We had quite...an adventure," he grinned, not sure if that was a good word to describe what they went through.

She yawned, "just tired," she grazed her fingers over his bare chest peeping out from his slightly open tunic. "And hungry," she smiled. Looking up at him she raised an eyebrow and he looked confused. She kissed his lips randomly and his eyes widened, though he definitely wasn't going to refuse that.

Pulling away he smirked at her. "What was that for?"

"I just wanted to do that," she grinned mischievously. Her hand traveled down to his hips and he chuckled nervously.

"Eve..." for someone who said they were tired, she was being quite handsy and very much awake. She took his tunic out from his pants and he scooted away from her, propping himself up on the pillows. "Your mother and Gabrielle are not far from here..." he nervously said as she kissed his neck.

She smiled up at him, seeing the nervousness in his green eyes. "Well, don't be loud then," she climbed on top of him and his eyes widened, surprised at her behavior, completely forgetting about his injured leg.

"What has gotten into you?" he felt her lips graze his chest and then come to his cheeks traveling down to his lips.

* * *

Gabrielle and Xena sat together in their room eating some bread and Xena drinking some much needed wine. She hadn't drank wine in quite awhile but she felt like she needed it. they would arrive in Athens by nightfall and wanted to keep herself busy with Gabrielle.

They were in the middle of a game of chess and Xena moved her pawn piece, eyeing Gabrielle with a smug smile. The blonde nodded her head and rubbed her chin thinking of her next move. Xena sipped on the wine waiting for her opponents next move.

Gabrielle was still festering on her next move and Xena frowned. "Well come on Gabrielle! I haven't got all day," she teased.

The blonde mockingly smiled at the empress then moved the king. "Check!" she yelled, clamping her hands together, excited that she actually beat Xena for the first time ever. It looked like all those games she played with Eve over the years finally paid off.

Xena eyed the board and frowned, "congratulations. One for you, a million for me," she smirked finishing off her glass of wine.

Gabrielle grinned widely, "I captured the queen. So I win."

"You certainly did," Xena winked and the blonde blushed. She poured another glass of the thick red wine in the glass and poured one for Gabrielle. Handing her the glass she lifted her own. "To capturing your queen," she smiled subtly and Gabrielle smirked, then drank from the glass staring into Xena's sparkling eyes.

A loud crash was heard from the back of the ship and Xena stood up setting her glass down. Gabrielle frowned and both left the room. They went to the room where Eve and Samuel were. Xena opened the door and saw Samuel on the floor and the bedside table knocked over and Eve leaning over the edge of the bed.

Gabrielle stepped in and raised an eyebrow. "What were you two doing?" she asked and Samuel nervously smiled at her with reddened cheeks.

Xena folded her arms and her daughter turned to her with an innocent face. Eve got down on the floor and tried lifting Samuel off the floor. Xena and Gabrielle came to help and she pushed her daughter out of the way. "Don't even think about it," she and Gabrielle hoisted Samuel off the floor and he winced in pain, moving his leg slightly. They placed him back onto the bed.

"I was just trying to help and he fell off the bed," Eve sheepishly said and Gabrielle smirked at the young princess.

"Uh huh," the blonde said, embarrassing Eve and Samuel both. Xena smirked and placed her hands on Eve's shoulders.

"You should let Samuel rest," she began pushing her daughter out of the room and Eve tried to stop her mother by planting her feet on the floor.

"But I –" Eve protested and Xena continued to push her out of the room with Gabrielle following behind.

"No, no. He needs to rest and you're just a distraction," she finally guided her daughter out of the room and Gabrielle smiled smugly at the king and closed the door.

* * *

Xena brought Eve to her room and Gabrielle closed the door. Eve was still wearing the blue gown that Laconicus gave her from yesterday. Xena ran her fingers through Eve's hair and pulled on her dress. The princess frowned, and slapped her mother's hands away.

"Mother stop," she protested like a child being fussed by her mother.

Xena smiled, "just checking to see if everything is where it is supposed to be." She lowered Eve onto the bed and the princess eyed Gabrielle, unsure what to make of her mother's odd behavior. She expected her to be irate, but she wasn't.

"You're not mad at me?" Eve asked and saw her mother pouring a glass of water for her. She took the glass and Gabrielle came to sit next to her.

"No, why would I be mad at you?" Xena sat in the chair opposite her, pushing the tray of bread closer to her daughter.

Eve shrugged, "I ruined the entire plan to free Solan and Allat. I got everyone arrested!" she lowered her eyes, tapping the glass with her fingernails.

Gabrielle rubbed Eve's back and leaned in closely to her, "to be fair, we  _all_  got ourselves arrested," she smiled. Eve grinned, enjoying lightening mood she was currently in.

The empress sighed, "I am just glad everyone is back in one piece." Eve smiled at her mother and Xena returned the smile. "But  _now_  will you listen to me and Gabrielle when we say 'no'?"

Eve nodded her vigorously, "I don't think I'll be going on any adventures for awhile. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you both the first time," she sighed. "I can be a real pain, can't I?" she jested.

Gabrielle scoffed, "yeah you can!" she immediately and the princess shot her a glare. "A beautiful pain," she grinned. Xena chuckled softly sipping on the wine and propped her boots on the edge of the bed.

A few moments of silence passed and Eve began eating the flat bread. She took a few small bites and set the bread aside. "I don't mean to be a pain again..." she began and both women looked at her anxiously. "But when are we getting off this ship?" now that she was fully awake she was starting to feel sick and food no longer interested her no matter how hungry she was.

Xena and Gabrielle shared a knowing glance with each other and smiled. Eve eyed them both and frowned, "I was being serious." Eve reiterated.

* * *

As the sun began setting in the dark skies they finally made it to Athens. Unfortunately for them all, they would have to ride a few hours to get to the palace. Gabrielle was beginning to think having the palace in the middle of nowhere was not such a good idea. They were at least four hours away from the palace.

The men at the port gave them horses of course once they saw their empress exit the ship. Xena and Gabrielle shared a horse and Solan rode behind Samuel and Eve, both on their own horses. Xena was able to dull Samuel's pain by using accurate pressure points in his thigh so he would be able to ride without tremendous amounts of pain.

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to see Athens," Gabrielle said leaning her head against Xena's back.

Xena smirked, "I didn't know you hated it so much," she teased. She felt a slap on her shoulder and she turned her head seeing a playful Gabrielle behind her with a smug smile. "I'll have to remember to get you later," she turned her head more and saw Eve riding next to Samuel and Solan behind them. "How are you holding up back there you three?" she called out.

Samuel smiled, "just fine," he glanced over at Eve who seemed to be feeling better after getting off the ship. Xena nodded and turned back around, riding ahead at a steady slow pace. She didn't feel the need to stop and rest. They had been riding for an hour already and only had two more hours to go before it was completely dark.

Solan trotted up next to his sister and nudged her arm. She turned and smiled weakly at him. "How are you feeling?" he asked, concerned for her.

"I'm alright, anxious to get back home," she nodded and Solan smiled at her.

"I can't believe mother let you travel to Assyria," he frowned. "I should talk to her about that."

Eve shook her head, "I'm the one who wanted to go. She and Gabrielle told me not to but –"

"You disobeyed them," he finished her sentence and she grinned sheepishly. "Typical Eve. Always doing what you want whenever you want," he playfully added and his sister laughed softly, enjoying his company. "You should listen to them more often."

She nodded, "I think I know that now," no longer willing to fight against her mother or Gabrielle's wishes anymore. She eyed him carefully after a few moments. "You're not upset about me and Samuel are you?"

Solan looked at the Persian riding a few paces ahead of them and turned towards his sister. She had a bit of fear in her eyes and he sighed. "No, not anymore. I told him I was going to kill him when Gabrielle said you were pregnant."

Eve blinked, "you  _what_?" she was surprised. That didn't sound like the loving brother she knew.

He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously and chuckled. "I'm not going to kill him." He said easing her nerves. "I just care about you. You're my little sister and I don't want anyone to hurt you."

Eve smiled, "thank you Solan, but Samuel is very nice. Mother likes him so that's a good thing. If she didn't then I don't think he'd still be here."

"Good point," he concluded. "I still might punch him though." He mumbled.

"What?" the princess blinked with wide eyes.

He grinned and pat her shoulder, "nothing," he pinched her cheek and rode ahead to meet with Xena and Gabrielle to see how far they were away from the palace. Eve rubbed her cheek, frowning at her brother.

* * *

The following morning Xena woke up to see Gabrielle still sleeping next to her. She smiled and shook her shoulder, trying to wake her. "Gabrielle..." she whispered and the slumbering blonde groaned, turning over underneath the covers. Xena smirked and whisked the covers off of Gabrielle.

"Xena!" Gabrielle woke up immediately and clutched her body, feeling cold. She turned around with an annoyed face though Xena had a big smile on her face. "What's with the face so early in the morning?" she groaned and Xena got out of bed, wrapping her robe around her body. Gabrielle pulled the covers over her body again ready to go back to sleep.

Xena knelt down beside the bed and Gabrielle opened her eyes and yelped. "Get up Gabrielle. We have work to do!" she smiled and the blonde pulled the blankets over her face.

"We can't sleep in just this once, Xena?" she complained and Xena yanked the blankets off her once again.

"No!" she grinned, feeling a bit playful at the moment. She waltzed over to the mirror and brushed her long locks, now down to her hips. "Oh I thought I should have mentioned this yesterday or maybe even on the ride over here last night but..." she saw Gabrielle was still in bed as she glanced in the mirror. "Samuel's mother is here."

Gabrielle sat up instantly and rubbed her eyes, "what do you mean his mother is here? Like here in the palace, like right now?" she raced through her questions.

Xena smiled nodding her head, "yes Gabrielle. She arrived here a few days after you left. It was a surprise to me too, but I told her that she could stay here."

"Well." Gabrielle sighed heavily, "that is unexpected." She finally got out of bed scratching her head. She grabbed her clothes, a dress that Xena graciously picked out for her. It was a dark orange color, which Xena thought it'd compliment her skin. Gabrielle never really wore dresses, but if Xena picked it out for her, she wasn't going to oblige to it. "Does she know we're back?" she asked, slipping the dress over her head.

Xena didn't really feel like wearing clothes today but she had to. She honestly wished she could just stay in her robe all day and sleep like Gabrielle wanted, but she had things to do. She pulled out a white dress, a color that she rarely wore. She threw it on the bed and stripped of her robe. "I don't think so. We came in late last night and she is in another wing," she slipped the gown over her head, fixing the strap on her left shoulder. Her right shoulder was bare and this dress definitely made her look like a true Grecian woman.

The two looked at one another in their unconventional dresses and grinned. "You should wear white more often," Gabrielle said.

"You should wear dresses more often," Xena replied. They left the bedroom and Xena saluted casually to the guards that stayed ever so vigilant outside her room.

"So what 'things' do we have to do today?" Gabrielle asked as they walked down the stairs together.

Xena slyly grinned, "Rome, Gabrielle. We need to leave as soon as possible. I can't have Octavius think that I would miss an opportunity to see his precious face," she mocked. Gabrielle rolled her eyes at Xena's casual joking.

Hatima walked down the hall wearing a green gown with her hair down, reaching beyond her hips. She saw Xena and Gabrielle walking and talking together. She frowned, a bit confused. She didn't know that they were back and in fact, Xena disappeared the other day and now she was back and so was Gabrielle, which meant her son was back as well as Eve was.

"Xena!" Hatima said aloud and the empress turned her head. They stopped and waited for her to approach them. "Gabrielle," she smiled at the blonde warrior. "I didn't know you had returned."

Gabrielle studied the woman's face and definitely saw a lot of Samuel in her, including her big green eyes. She was also very beautiful and had fair skin, complimenting her dark wavy hair. "We...uh, we just came back last night," she said nervously. "Xena just told me this morning that you were staying here..." she grinned and Hatima nodded.

"She was kind enough to allow me to," Hatima bowed her head curtly towards Xena. "My name is Queen Hatima Hatun, but you may call me Hatima." Gabrielle grinned apprehensively and bowed her head, not entirely used to having a queen around, except for Zenobia, but that was a bit different.

Xena linked arms with Gabrielle and began pulling her along. "Gabrielle and I have some work to do for awhile. I'm sure Eve and Samuel will come out in a bit." She saw the queen's eyes light up at that news.

"I am anxious to see them both," Hatima's eyes grew in excitement and Gabrielle smiled then both left her side.

Xena and Gabrielle walked towards the dreaded office that both loathed at a time like this because they had to sort through a lot of documents. "She seems nice," Gabrielle said and Xena remained silent. "She's gorgeous," she added. "Did you see her eyes? They're so, so..." she tried to find the right words to describe them.

"Big?" Xena teased and Gabrielle smirked. The guards opened the doors to Xena's office and gestured for Gabrielle to enter. "After you."

"Oh how  _kind_  of you..." Gabrielle's words dripping with sarcasm as she stepped into the room with Xena following.

* * *

Eve woke up and saw Samuel still sleeping. She sat up and looked around the dark room, glad to be back home, she really missed it for once in her life. She was about to get out of bed when she felt a tug on her wrist.

Samuel sleepily spoke, "where are you going?" his eyes fluttered open and Eve smiled down at him.

"I'm going to get dressed and head downstairs," she said and he pulled her back in bed. "Samuel..."

"Just stay here," he sleepily said and smirked up at her.

Eve shook her head, "you can stay here if you want." She felt his hand come to her stomach and she glanced down curiously.

"I have a better idea. We can all stay here in bed together. I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind," he smirked and the princess sighed.

"And she probably wouldn't but," she slid his hand off her stomach and grinned. "I am starving and I can't exactly eat if I stay in bed, so..." she hopped out of bed. "I'm leaving," she grabbed the nearest dress from her wardrobe to change into. "You wouldn't want to deprive our child of food, would you?" she teased.

Samuel sighed and leaned against the headboard of the bed. "Definitely not," he had his hands behind his head relaxing peacefully. "I'll be down later." She quickly changed into a dark red gown, hugging her subtle curves. His eyes widened and Eve smoothed out the wrinkles in the gown as she stared at herself in the mirror. She realized that this dress was a bit tighter than the last time she wore it and that was a bit disappointing considering it was a favorite of hers. She turned to her side and saw it was definitely noticeable that she was carrying a small child.

She saw Samuel gawking at her through the mirror and she smirked. "You act like you've never seen me in a dress before," she placed her hands on her hips.

"You just look...different," he said awkwardly and saw her eyebrow lift in confusion. "I mean, lovely," he grinned.

"Uh huh," Eve nodded then slipped on her shoes and left the bedroom.

She walked down the stairs and it was very quiet, she didn't see Gabrielle or her mother. She knew her mother would be awake by now though because she didn't like to sleep in unlike Gabrielle and herself. She liked to sleep in at least until the sun came up, but not Xena, she always wanted to rise early to get her duties done before early afternoon.

Eve saw a woman with very long dark brown hair and a green gown. She knew it wasn't her mother because her hair was far too long and she was shorter than her mother. Approaching slowly she put her hands behind her back. "Hello..." she said aloud and the woman turned around.

Hatima looked at the princess and instantly knew it was Xena's daughter. She had grown a lot since she had last seen her, but she'd recognize her anywhere. She smiled and Eve blinked, staring into her eyes longer than expected.

"Queen Hatun," Eve bent down touching the Persian queen's shoes and Hatima grabbed her shoulders lifting her up. She remembered Samuel's mother even after many years of being apart from them. She saw her with Samuel when she was in Persia many years ago. She never thought she'd have the chance to meet her again since she didn't see her during her last trip to Persia recently.

The brunette queen grinned, "I'm surprised that you recognize who I am even after all these years," she saw the shocked look in Eve's eyes. She scanned her body and grasped Eve's hands in her own. "You have grown into a beautiful young lady!"

Eve blushed, feeling a bit awkward standing in front of Samuel's mother. "Such kind words..." she lamely said trying to hide her flushed emotions. Hatima touched Eve's hair and the princess eyed her cautiously. "I had no idea that you were here."

Hatima gestured for Eve to walk with her. "Your mother sent a letter to me and I decided to come here to see you and my son. I haven't seen Samuel in five years. It was a surprise to me that you all had returned so quickly."

Eve nodded, "you can thank my mother for that." She walked alongside the queen and silence passed between them both. "It was nice of you to travel all the way to Greece to see Samuel and I."

"Xena asked me to help with the wedding preparations." Hatima said and Eve looked at her bemusedly.

"She did?" Eve knew that her mother wasn't the one to ask for outside help so she thought that was odd. She was now the one who underestimated her mother and her caring attitude towards her own daughter's well being. "I didn't mean for that to be rude it's just...my mother doesn't usually ask for help."

Hatima knew that immediately when she first met Xena. She was a woman who liked to do things her own way and knew that it was quite an honor that she'd even ask for her help. "She is probably overwhelmed."

Eve knew that was too true. "She's always overwhelmed with something," she smiled towards the queen. "With everything that has happened I almost forgot that Samuel and I are going to get married," she admitted a bit embarrassed to say so.

The Persian queen grinned, "it is understandable. Your mother told me that you are pregnant," her eyes widened and Eve blushed, feeling a bit awkward around this woman. Sure she was nice, but she didn't really know anything about her.

"Did she?" Eve tightly grinned. "I should go tell Samuel that you are here," she began to pull away and Hatima definitely wanted to see her son, but didn't want to ask about him to seem overzealous.

"I will wait here for you both to return," respecting their privacy. Eve smiled and left to run back upstairs to inform Samuel.

* * *

Xena sat at the desk with Gabrielle going over past treaties she had with the Roman Empire. Xena pointed at one she made with him years ago. "What about this one?"

Gabrielle cringed and shook her head tossing the parchment off the desk. "It's probably best not to bring that treaty up again."

The empress was growing impatient the longer she stayed in this room. "Then I have nothing..." she tapped her fingernails on the desktop. "I have to address the Spartans with him. They cannot get away with their treason in my empire."

Gabrielle nodded, "agreed. He's not going to be happy to hear that his Spartans failed." She smiled.

A slow clap was heard and Ares appeared in the office. Xena stood up enraged to see the war god standing before her. Gabrielle stood and took a step back next to Xena. "You managed to get away from the Spartans. Bravo to you, Xena."

"What do you want Ares? Why did you convince Laconicus to side against me?" Xena frowned.

Ares grinned, "I didn't convince him. I just  _enticed_  him. The Spartans were already angry that you were not paying enough attention to them so I just...gave them a boost!" he folded his arms arrogantly staring at the empress. He looked over to the blonde, "you put up a good fight back in Assyria, Gabrielle. How's the arm?" he sneered.

Gabrielle frowned, touching her wounded arm unconsciously. "You were there watching the whole time?" she growled. "I knew something was going on with that vicious sand storm," she scoffed and Xena eyed her curiously.

Ares chuckled, "oh  _that_? That wasn't me," he shook his head wagging his finger, "that was my sister, Eris. You see, she was a little pissed off," he tapped his chin. "She discovered something that wasn't exactly to her liking," he smirked.

Xena pulled out her sword from beneath her desk and pointed it at him. His eyes widened and backed away from her. "Tell your sister to stay away from my daughter or I will  _personally_  chop her into pieces," she smiled deviously.

The War God chuckled nervously as he looked at the blade. He had never feared a sword wielded by Xena until now. "Oh so you don't know, do you?" he smugly smirked and Xena's eyebrows creased.

"What are you talking about?" Xena asked and Gabrielle's eyes went back and forth between Xena and Ares as they stared at each other for quite some time, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere in the room.

Ares sighed, "congratulations, you are now a grandma times two," he sarcastically said with a churlish grin. He saw the initial shock on Xena's face and was enjoying every moment of it. "Surprise!" he grinned and Xena was speechless.

Gabrielle stood behind Xena with wide eyes and was waiting for a reaction from Xena but she was silent and wasn't moving at all.

Ares started laughing at Xena's lack of emotion. "Well, that was a disappointment, I was looking for a reaction," he sighed. "I must get back to Sparta. Duty calls. I'm sure all of us will meet...again," he winked at Gabrielle and disappeared.

Finally now that he was gone Gabrielle touched Xena's arm, though she didn't even flinch. "Xena..are you alright?" she asked quietly. "You're really quiet."

Xena put the sword on the desk and her eyes were wide, still trying to process what Ares told her. "I need to see Eve." She said calmly and Gabrielle nodded, hastily making her way to the doors.

"I don't know if she's still awake, but –" there was a loud crash from behind her and she turned to see Xena on the floor, knocked out. "By the gods," she ran and knelt down beside Xena. She gently pat her cheeks trying to wake her up. "Xena!" she cupped her face in her palms and felt instant panic ensue inside her. "This is not good," she spoke aloud to herself. It reminded her of so long ago when she fainted and she didn't know what to do.

She stood up and began to pace back and forth, nothing really changing from the last time this happened. She knelt down again and slapped Xena's face. "Wake up, woman!" she said and Xena wouldn't budge. She groaned and then looked at the chair nearby. She could get Xena there if she tried really hard. Gabrielle sighed and grabbed a hold of Xena's arms, dragging her across the floor, struggling and definitely not getting far especially with her injured arm.

Solan opened the door to the office and said, "you both know there's a woman in the –" he saw Gabrielle dragging his mother across the floor and frowned. "What happened here?"

Gabrielle dropped Xena's arms breathing heavily. "Oh thank the gods you're here Solan," she placed her hands on her hips. "She fainted." She exhaled trying to catch her breath, "I was trying to get her to the chair over there –"

Solan immediately knelt down and picked up Xena in his arms effortlessly. Gabrielle frowned as he made it look so easy while she was over here struggling. He placed his mother in the chair and leaned her head back, he looked at her intensely and Gabrielle folded her arms. "Why did she faint?" he asked and pat his mother's cheek gently.

The blonde remained silent and Solan turned to her looking for an answer. "She found out something a bit...shocking," she grinned nervously.

Solan saw a glass of water and threw it in his mother's face. Xena's eyes opened and she coughed, gasping and saw she was drenched in water. Her eyes looked up to see two blondes staring at her concerned. She winced and touched the back of her head from the fall earlier. "Why are you two gawking at me like that?"

"Gabrielle said you fainted," he knelt down and grabbed his mother's hand squeezing gently.

Xena looked to Gabrielle and saw fear and anxiety in her green eyes. "Well that's embarrassing," she said coolly, totally dismissing that she just fainted on the floor. She stood up and now her gown was covered in water she sighed. Then it donned on her, "Eris is going keep more of a sharp eye on Eve now."

Gabrielle frowned, "Eris? She's still after Eve?"

Solan was very confused and Xena interjected, "not her, but her children," she eyed Solan's curious expression then saw his eyes widen.

"Wait a minute. Eve is having twins?" he said not believing his mother. Gabrielle and Xena remained quiet and stared at him. "Now I'm definitely going to kill Samuel."

Xena blinked, "what? Don't be ridiculous," she folded her arms.

Solan frowned at his mother, "this is his fault. Seducing her while I was away. I knew I should have stayed in Persia."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes, "I don't think  _he_  was the one doing the seducing," she slyly added and Solan blinked, not wanting to hear that about his sister. He cringed in disgust. He shook his head and left the room. Gabrielle and Xena shared a glance with one another. "Solan, where are you off to?" she called out then followed him with Xena behind her.

* * *

Hatima saw Samuel limping over to her with Eve holding onto him. She creased her eyebrows to see his leg was bandaged up and the Persian king's eyes widened, seeing his mother for the first time in five long years. "Samuel, your leg!" she gasped and Samuel smiled.

"It's nothing to worry about," he stared at his mother's face and touched her hair. Hatima glanced up and saw a smile on her son's face. She embraced him warmly. "This is a nice surprise to see you here." He whispered.

Hatima pulled away and kissed his cheek. "I think I have been absent long enough."

Xena, Gabrielle and Solan were walking down the hallway towards the three. Hatima turned and smiled at the three, though Solan, she knew that Xena's eldest child, didn't look happy. Eve frowned seeing her brother's face and her mother and Gabrielle trailing behind him.

Samuel's eyes widened, "he's going to kill me," he said and Eve stood in front of him.

Solan came up to Eve and folded his arms. "Get out of the way, Eve." He said as politely as possible.

She shook her head, "no, you're being ridiculous." She looked into his eyes almost the same eye level as him.

Xena came up behind and placed a firm hand on Solan's shoulder. "Solan, go see the men on the training grounds and tell them I need four volunteers to go with me to Sparta."

Gabrielle blinked, "we're going to Sparta?" this was news to her. She didn't receive a response from Xena and Solan eyed the Persian king before leaving per his mother's request. He didn't ever disobey her commands unlike his sister. Shaking his head as he turned the corner Samuel was able to breathe again.

"What was that about?" Hatima said, asking for everyone.

Xena smiled anxiously, "he was just upset about something. He'll get over it," she calmly said, though that didn't really answer the queen's question.

"He was about to deck me," Samuel smiled and Eve snapped her head glaring at him. His smile disappeared when he saw that Eve was not very keen on his joke.

Eve stood pinching the bridge of her nose until she felt a hand on her arm. She glanced up and saw her mother smiling down at her. "I need to talk to you," she eyed everyone, "alone."


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: and so it begins.**

Chapter 24

_"Bow to the Queen."_

After Xena and Gabrielle escorted Eve to Xena's bedroom upstairs to be alone. Xena told her daughter what Ares revealed to her earlier and did mention Eris briefly, but did not specify what the goddess had planned for her. She thought that information should be spared from her daughter especially after the news she gave her.

Eve sat on Xena's bed quietly, staring at the wall lost in her own thoughts. Xena stood beside her waiting for a reaction for the last five minutes but she got nothing from her. Gabrielle bit her fingernails anxiously as she stood next to Xena, staring at Eve. She had said nothing for five minutes now and she wasn't sure if it was from shock or fear.

Gabrielle pulled Xena aside away from Eve so she wouldn't hear them. "Xena, she's in shock," she whispered. Xena turned around seeing her daughter stare blankly at the wall in front of her then brought her attention back to the blonde.

"I know but I had to tell her," she said in a hushed tone. Gabrielle continued biting her nails and Xena frowned, pulling her fingers away from her mouth. "Stop doing that." She chastised and Gabrielle hid her hands underneath her armpits in order to not tempt herself further. Xena decided to sit next to her daughter on the bed and Gabrielle stayed behind watching the two. Slowly she slid her hands out from under her arms and began biting her fingernails as soon as Xena left.

"Eve," Xena began slowly with a calm voice. She placed her hand on her daughter's back attempting to comfort her. "I understand that she is a lot for you to process right now –"

"Gods lie don't they?" Eve interrupted catching her mother off guard.

Xena smiled, "they do, yes. Sometimes," she finished, now seeing Eve look to the ground unsure what was really going on in her mind at the moment.

Eve continued, "Ares lies to you or he has in the past, right?" she looked into her mother's eyes. Xena looked at her apologetically but remained silent. "Maybe he and Eris are lying. I have no reason to believe them," she frowned.

The empress nodded, finding Eve's words to be true. She too did not trust the Olympians especially when it came to Ares and now his annoying sister, Eris. But there was one thing that lingered in her mind and that was Eris' threats towards Eve that concerned her. Eris had no good reason to lie about this especially if Eris said she wanted Eve's children eliminated off this planet, which Xena also did not fully understand, nor did she want to. The goddess made an imminent threat towards her family and she never took threats lightly especially coming from a god.

"while I sympathize with you Eve, Eris has no reason to lie about this. Gods lie yes, but only when it benefits them. This news doesn't benefit her in any way." She exhaled slowly and saw the disappointment linger in Eve's eyes. She knew that explanation would not make her daughter feel better, but she had to say it in order to get the denial out of Eve's mind.

Gabrielle sighed and walked over to kneel down in front of Eve, grasping her hands in her own. "Gods or not, we're here for you, you know that right?" she lifted her eyebrows in hope and Eve turned to her with a small smile then Gabrielle grinned up at her.

"Gabrielle is right, we are here for you," she and Gabrielle shared a glance with one another, exchanging cheeky grins. Xena kissed Eve's head, bringing her close to her. Eve leaned into her and breathed out slowly still very much in shock.

Eve furrowed her eyebrows and lifted her head staring into her mother's blue eyes. "What am I going to tell Samuel?" her eyes widened and Xena sighed. Gabrielle sat on the floor blowing a piece of her hair out of her face and looked back and forth at Eve and Xena.

"If Solan doesn't kill him, this news surely will!" Gabrielle jested and Xena's eyes widened at her and curtly shook her head. Gabrielle bit her bottom lip then saw the concern in Eve's eyes. The princess' breath quickened and she started fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.

Xena frowned and saw Eve begin to panic. She grabbed hold of Eve's shoulders, squeezing tightly. "I'll deal with Solan and if Samuel loves you like he says, then it won't be a problem." She smiled and Eve's nerves ceased for a bit, she saw a weight lifted on her daughter's shoulders. Kissing her head she stood and pulled Eve off the bed.

"I should go tell him," Eve said with a loud sigh. "But he's going to ask me how I know..." she eyed her mother and Gabrielle.

Gabrielle stood up with a bit of skip in her step, "you can tell him that your midwife told you," she smiled and Xena raised a confused eyebrow at her as did Eve. She stared at the two with the same expression and her smile disappeared. "Well, he doesn't have to know you don't have a midwife..." she grinned sheepishly.

Xena rolled her eyes, "just tell him whatever he wants to hear," she began pushing her daughter out of the room and then grabbed onto Gabrielle's arm forcefully pulling her along with them.

After Eve disappeared down the stairs Xena stared at her until she was no longer in sight. Gabrielle stood next to Xena at the top of the staircase. "That went well," Gabrielle grinned. The empress slowly looked at her with an unbelieving look. "What?" she uttered bemusedly.

* * *

The two women went outside in the atrium to find Solan sword fighting alone out in the open, probably relieving some much needed stress off his back. He wore wide harem pants that he got in Assyria whilst staying with Allat. Shirtless he swung the blade then saw his mother and Gabrielle standing outside with blank stares. He lowered the blade and wiped his brow with a towel hanging around his neck. Even as a man his build was very slim, though more built than he was when he was a scrawny teenager, he looked much the same, though his hair short and eyes blue as ice, mirroring his mother's and sister's. it was hard not to see the resemblance between son and mother as he grew older.

"If you've come to talk to me about Samuel, I'm not going to hurt him," he wiped the blade down and held it up in the sunlight.

Xena approached her son slowly, "that's not what I came here to talk to you about, but that's good to hear that you won't harm Samuel," she smugly grinned and snatched the blade from Solan, looking at the edges, checking to see if it was sharp enough. He eyed her cautiously and Gabrielle stood beside them both. "Since Samuel is hurt I want you to come to Sparta with me and Gabrielle." She finished examining the blade and handed it back to him. "We need to leave by tomorrow."

Solan's eyes were filled with excitement. It had been quite a long time since he had gone on a mission with his mother and those were very few. He could count on his hand how many he actually went on with her and Gabrielle. "We're going to show those Spartans who's in charge, right?" he winked and Gabrielle smacked her forehead with her palm and Xena sighed audibly. "What?" he looked at the two women and his mouth gaped, "this isn't a mission of peace is it?"

Xena folded her arms, "I don't want to war with the Spartans. Peace is what I am after but if he refuses then I will have no choice but to fight."

Solan grinned, nodding his head. "Laconicus works with Octavius so you know he's not going to be peaceful towards us, right?"

"Unfortunately," Gabrielle said with a dramatic eye roll.

"Make sure you gather the four volunteers I asked for," Xena began walking off with Gabrielle and Solan scoffed.

" _Only_  four? Mother..." he chided and Xena turned to him with a menacing frown. "okay, four men it is," he corrected and Xena smiled leaving him to fulfill his duties before tomorrow's leave.

* * *

_Sparta_

Laconicus made sure to return discreetly and his men continued to train outside his large villa on the hillside of outer rim of Sparta. He had just received a letter from the Roman Emperor stating that there was delay meeting with Xena, which he wasn't surprised. He had no choice but to inform him about the failure in Assyria to capture Allat and his kingdom. The Romans were probably wiped out by now because Xena left her naval fleet with the Arab king. Allat was due to take his kingdom back with the help of the Greeks and Persians, so ironic the Spartan General thought to himself.

Tossing the letter aside he groaned. "Persians and Greeks," he scoffed, "if I ruled Greece, this farce of a relationship wouldn't exist." He rubbed his chin in deep thought, "why would Xena ally with the Persian King?" he whispered to himself.

The doors to his throne chamber opened and saw his wife looking disarray and worrisome. He stood up and she swiftly walked towards him. "Gorgo, what brings you here?" he smiled.

His wife frowned and met with him face to face. "Laconicus, have you brought your problems home with you?" she chastised and he frowned, not understanding what she was talking about. "The Empress is waiting outside of the gates!" she yelled. Laconicus pushed his wife aside and ran outside to see Xena for himself.

Running out of the villa on the balcony he saw Xena waiting with her elite guards, plus four men and her son with her as well as Gabrielle. Xena looked up at him and smiled. She waved at him and he growled. Gorgo appeared beside him. "What is  _she_  doing here?" she questioned with malice in her voice.

"I'm about to find out..." he mumbled and waved at his guards to open the gates to allow the empress to enter. He turned on his heel and went down below to meet the empress and her entourage.

Xena and Gabrielle trotted in on their horses with everyone following behind. Everyone clad in black and silver armor, though Xena donned her black cape and silver helm with the large fan shaped plum feathers. She normally only wore this helm in formal wars or battles, but she wanted to assert her power and authority over the Spartans and their general.

As they entered Laconicus' grounds the Spartans stopped sparing with each other and took a few steps back, glaring up at her. Gabrielle noticed the not-so-friendly welcome they got. "I am getting the feeling that the Spartans don't like you," she whispered to Xena.

"Really? I didn't notice," Xena smirked and halted her horse as soon as she saw Laconicus waiting for her a mere twenty feet away. She hopped off her horse and Gabrielle followed suit. The Spartan soldiers came towards Xena and Gabrielle with spears and Xena's men surrounded them with swords. Xena smiled putting her hand up to her men to back away from the vicious Spartans.

Laconicus grinned, "it is pretty brave of you to show your face here, empress," he folded his arms in a defensive stance. His wife, Gorgo, stood at the balcony on the second floor of their villa, watching the exchange.

"I own this land," Xena grinned tightly, "so I can come and go as I please or did you forget that?" she teased.

He waved his hand at his men to back away from Xena and they reluctantly did so, following his orders. Xena watched them all with a sly grin on her lips. He took a step closer towards her and stared into her mischievous eyes. "You may own this land, but you gave me the rights to govern my people on my own accord or did  _you_  forget that?" he threw her words back at her and the empress stood unfazed.

She nodded, "I did, you are absolutely right, Laconicus  _but_ ," she held up her finger, "you captured my friends and family. You betrayed me by allying with the Roman Emperor so your word means nothing to me," her smile faded and now she was frowning menacingly at the general.

Laconicus stood silently then looked to the empress's friend and an eerie grin appeared. "Ah yes. Gabrielle was it?" he saw the blonde's eyebrows crease. "How's the arm?" he asked, chuckling lowly.

Solan frowned and took a step forward. "Let me straighten him out," and Xena put her arm over his chest. He groaned and almost took out his sword but his mother gave him a glare and he backed down.

"How is your sister, Solan? I hope she is well," he winked and Solan frowned then spat on the ground displaying his lack of respect for the Spartan. "I see where he gets his manners from," he teased and glared over at Xena.

Xena frowned and took a step closer towards him. "Laconicus, I don't want to fight you. We can make this very simple and no blood will be shed or you can be difficult and defy me." She waited for a response and all she got was an arrogant chin tilt and her frown deepened. "Break your alliance with Octavius and I will be lenient with your punishment."

He laughed at her and his men smiled, joining in with him. Xena looked around at all the men laughing at her and felt Gabrielle coming closer towards her. She raised an eyebrow and he ceased laughter. "You expect me to believe you? You were known as a tyrant before you supposedly changed, Xena! You fled to Egypt and abandoned your people. What kind of a ruler does that?"

She sighed, "you're trying my patience, Laconicus. Back down now and I will spare your life," she drew her sword from its sheath and pointed it at his heart. "Or continue this alliance and I promise there will be nothing left to your name." she looked in his eyes to see any compliance. "What'll it be?"

Laconicus clenched his teeth and spat in her face. Xena blinked and wiped the saliva off her cheek with the backside of her hand and he grinned cheekily seeing the rage engulfing Xena's eyes. Her pupils enlarged and that was the Xena he knew so long ago. "I knew you haven't changed. I guess being in the city of Ares does that to you," he grinned.

Xena sheathed her sword and turned to walk away. Gabrielle's mouth gaped, surprised that Xena did not retaliate. She ran to her and Xena mounted her horse. "What are you doing?!" she said aloud and Solan was also surprised that his mother did not rip this man to shreds. She would have done so many years ago, but he didn't think his mother would stand for such disrespect.

Solan turned his attention towards the Spartan General, "you disrespected your empress, Laconicus."

"She is no empress of mine," he shrugged nonchalantly.

Xena felt her blood pressure rising and her heart racing as soon as Laconicus spat in her face and defied her in front of her own men and his as well. She hadn't felt like this in about twenty years. She had changed from a tyrant to a gracious empress over the years but her patience was very thin as she grew older. She had fought very long and hard to maintain her empire and she was beginning to feel some familiar emotions that she felt nearly thirty years ago, before she was even Empress of Greece.

She looked down and saw Gabrielle speaking to her but she heard nothing. All she could hear was her heart beating in her ears and her anger seeping through her skin. She turned her horse around and saw her men were waiting for her to give the okay to attack. She smiled at them and they placed their hands on the hilts of their blades, ready for anything.

"Kill them all," she said calmly and slowly trotted in between her men and they unsheathed their swords, hopping off their horses and began attacking the Spartan soldiers.

Gabrielle frowned as she saw Xena slowly riding off leaving the battle to her four men and Solan as well. She grabbed her Sais from her boots and plunged the blades into a Spartan's chest as he ran towards her. She kicked him down and then ran for Xena.

"Xena! What in Hades was that? Kill them all?" she breathed heavily and saw Xena turn around with that look in her eyes. A look she never thought she'd see again. "Your eyes..." she blinked, unsure what to think. It was like time had shifted and they were back to square one so long ago. "I don't like that look," Gabrielle turned once she heard cries of agony and saw Solan plunge his blade into a Spartan. Laconicus was fighting off one of the elite guards. "You're just going to let them fight alone?"

Xena smiled watching her men fight the Spartans and they were valiant against them. The Spartans were very well trained, but so were her men. Some of her men were originally from Corinth and Sparta so it did not surprise her that they fought very well. "I am done playing nice guy, Gabrielle," she sighed. "I have tried to be reasonable but these idiots won't listen to me. They undermine my authority as empress. I just can't allow this to happen anymore!" she snarled and pulled out a dagger throwing it at a Spartan coming towards Gabrielle.

The blonde turned and saw the soldier clutch his chest and blood stained his hands. He looked up at Xena and dropped to his knees breathlessly. Xena smirked as the Spartan took out the dagger from his chest and tried to clog his bleeding wound. Gabrielle's eyes widened in horror. She didn't expect this to happen and for Xena to back down like this, although she was backing down in another way. Reverting to her ways as empress decades ago when she watched on the sidelines as others fought in her name.

"You see how he is on his knees, Gabrielle?" Xena gestured to the dying Spartan. "Everyone should show their respect like this to me. I am Empress of Greece. Not Laconicus, not Octavius, not Marc Antony, not Phraates!" her heart raced as she brought up names from her past and Gabrielle stared at her with her mouth slightly agape, a bit fearful of her behavior. Xena composed herself again and exhaled slowly, "anybody that defies me should be fearful of their consequences."

Gabrielle frowned, "Xena, although I do agree with you that the Spartans need to be stopped but...if you kill Laconicus it will enrage Octavius."

Xena snapped, "so what?!" she growled. "That Roman brat has been after me for years. It is time to show him that the Greek Empire is not to be messed with!" she yelled and before Gabrielle could respond one of her men called her name. The Spartan soldiers were either dead or badly wounded by her men. Solan held Laconicus' hands behind his back and Jorge held his sword up to the General's throat. Xena smiled and hopped off her horse sauntering over to the defeated general.

Gabrielle sighed shaking her head and followed Xena. She sheathed her Sais and watched Xena slowly approach the man. "Be careful what you do, Xena." She reminded the empress, though Xena smiled at Gabrielle.

"Of course," Xena unsheathed her sword and told Jorge to back away as Solan held Laconicus hands. "It seems you are defeated, Laconicus."

The general grumbled. "You are a snake in the grass, Xena."

Xena grinned, "I haven't heard that in a long time," she mused, thinking of Marc Antony as he called her a snake so many times in the past. That was something she didn't expect to hear again, yet here she was. "You should have taken my offer, Laconicus," she touched his cheek with her fingernail, digging into his cheek. He bit his tongue and she scratched his cheek, leaving a long scratch across his face. "Thanks to your arrogance I am going to show the known world who really is in charge of this empire!" she grinned and lifted her blade high in the air.

Gabrielle gasped and yelled, "Xena no!" she cried and Xena swung her blade chopping Laconicus' head off right before everyone's eyes. Gorgo above in the villa cried out for her husband and Xena looked up to the wailing woman. Gabrielle's eyes widened as she couldn't believe she had done that. A ruthless kill that was now considered out of character for Xena to do. The man was captured and useless to them, but Xena decapitated him with no remorse. "What did you just do..." she touched Xena's shoulder and the empress breathed heavily and sheathed her sword.

Xena grabbed the general's head and grabbed a spear off the ground. She began marching outside of the gates. She stuck the spear into the ground and pierced Laconicus' head on the spear's sharp end. She wiped the blood off on her black pants and walked back to Gabrielle and Solan. "I want Laconicus' body sent to the Emperor," she stated and Jorge nodded, gathering up the other men to lift the decapitated body to be put on an available horse.

Gabrielle touched Xena's shoulder and the empress turned to her. "This was supposed to be a mission of peace, not a massacre." She said a bit displeased with her consort's actions.

Xena smiled, "Gabrielle, he was never going to agree with me. Now I must show Octavius that I will not back down this time," she frowned. "I spared his life long ago, but now it is time that he respects the true empress of Rome."

Gabrielle blinked, shocked at Xena's behavior. "Empress of Rome? You want to wipe out Octavius  _and_  take Rome for yourself?"

"That's right." Xena mounted her horse and whistled to her men to gather together. Gabrielle mounted her horse and looked behind her to see the tragedy they left behind. She hoped that Xena knew what she was doing.

"Xena," she said and Xena halted her steed. She looked into her blue eyes. "Promise me that you are still the person I became to know and love..." she said lowly.

The empress grinned softly and touched Gabrielle's cheek, "I haven't gone anywhere Gabrielle," she kissed her hand gingerly. "I am doing this for you, for Eve, for Solan...for my entire empire."

Gabrielle smiled feeling a bit relieved to hear that. She thought she had lost Xena for a moment there but she was quick to switch off her war mode into the loving person she had known her to be inside. "You just reminded me of someone I used to know..." she admitted quietly.

"Mother, Gabrielle, are you coming?" Solan called out. Xena turned to him and nodded. He smiled and turned to lead the men out of the Spartan territory.

"And who might that be?" Xena asked Gabrielle.

The blonde lowered her eyes, " the old you," she whispered. Xena frowned sadly, now seeing the concern of Gabrielle and understood why she might be afraid.

"Gabrielle, I am still the Xena you know now but sometimes I cannot try things your way," she saw the blonde lift her head. "the peaceful way," she went on. "I'm going to need your help in this war against Octavius. You will help me, right?" she extended her hand and Gabrielle looked at Xena's palm.

She smiled, "as if you had to ask," she grabbed her hand and Xena smiled, gripping tightly. Together they rode out of the gates and Gabrielle looked at Laconicus head on the pike and cringed. "I still don't think you needed to decapitate him."

Xena smirked, "he talked too much anyway."

* * *

_Rome_

Octavius sat in his office and one of his guards came into the room. He saluted at the emperor and Octavius tapped his fingers on the table. He was most displeased that Xena did not meet with him as she said she had prior engagements elsewhere and Laconicus had disappointed him with his failure at capturing Assyria. He knew that kingdom was lost to him now.

"What is it?" the emperor impatiently asked. He had a lot of work to do and now with Xena's absence for the last week he was growing tired of her games. He didn't know what she was up to but whenever she was silent it was never good.

Two more men came in behind the guard and they were dragging a body across the floor. The emperor frowned and came in front of his desk. The men dropped the body a few feet away from him. They took the cloth off the body and saw the man was decapitated. Octavius' eyes widened and he could smell the body already decomposing as he stood there.

"What in Hades is this?" he asked, a bit enraged that his men brought in a dead body into his office.

The guard nervously began, "a gift from Xena, my lord," he bowed his head. "She said to watch your head since Laconicus did not learn his lesson..." he finished as he stared at the floor refusing to look into his emperor's eyes.

Octavius frowned and kicked the body over and saw the crest of the Spartan General on the body's armor. This man was Laconicus and Xena had killed him. He balled his fists up and grabbed his dagger and plunged it into his guard's chest. The man cried out and collapsed on the floor, wincing in pain as blood poured from his wound.

" _Xenaaaaa_!" he screamed loudly and his men winced at his rage. He threw everything off his desk in a fit of rage and breathed heavily. "I want her dead. Tell Tiberius to retreat to Rome and bring in all of our forces." He took the dagger out of the man's chest and wiped it on the man's armor. "She's wants a war, she'll get one," he grinned staring at his reflection in the dagger.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – _Plague One: Sea of Tears_

_One Month Later_

Octavius rode with some of his best men to parts of Greece. Due to Xena's lack of outposts he was able to get into the territories quite easily. He was most displeased by the little gift that she sent him. He wanted her dead and Xena knew that. He'd been trying to get rid of her for thirty years and still she was a sore in his eye. She needed to go, he thought. The first real war they had he felt so defeated but karma was on his side years later when Xena lost and she ran away like a sad puppy instead of the beast she claimed to be.

Xena had claimed to be a changed woman and he didn't really have too many encounters with her when he was a teenager, but she was a new empress at that time and his adopted father despised her he knew that much. Caesar wanted Xena dead when she tried to invade Rome so long ago, but not only did she lose, she lost her entire army in the process. Octavius often wondered how Xena was able to pick herself up so quickly after such a loss and create an entire empire in her name. She gained power in such a short amount of time and that was what made Xena the great empress she soon became to be known as. Although, Xena was a destroyer, a conqueror, a tyrant but now she was different. She said that she had changed and changed many things in her empire to accommodate her people and the countries that she controlled. People loved her now, but Octavius knew that Xena was always the same woman she always was. She could never change inside, he thought. Nobody changes overnight from a tyrannical leader into a saint. Xena was no saint –far from it.

There was thing he truly admired about Xena and that was her skills and strategies. She was always so good at strategic warfare. She could count on her hand how many times she had lost battles and wars over the course of thirty years. She had been in power longer than him in the formal sense. She had more experience than him which made her very dangerous and she had help too. He couldn't believe that anyone would want to help a snake like Xena. She was difficult to negotiate with and always wanted things to go her own way and when her enemy disagreed she destroyed them vehemently.

No trace would be left of her enemies. She was known to line heads on pikes guarding her enemies' camps, villages and territories. It was a warning to intruders not to mess with her. Octavius knew in the past that Xena had many assassination attempts when she was younger, but he didn't know if that tradition continued. She had won the people over with her peaceful treaties and warm motherly attitude towards the citizens of Athens and all of Greece's territories. Everyone loved her, but not him. The Roman Emperor did not wish to die and see Xena still sitting on her throne. He suspected that she'd die on that throne with sword in hand and the empire would live on without her and Gabrielle especially since she has two heirs to her throne.

He never paid much attention to Xena's daughter, because she hid her well for many years. He was not even aware that Xena had a daughter until she was a teenager in their last hoorah together, his last victory against the Grecian Empress. Octavius was most disappointed to see Solan turn from his adopted Roman roots to the Greek ways. Xena was not even Greek, which made Octavius sick. She was a Thracian. He wondered why the Greek people would allow a foreigner to rule over them. How did she win their hearts? He would probably never know the answer. And there was another thing as well, Xena had a slew of hidden allies –the Persians being one of them. Samuel became the king after his father, Phraates, died and he was a terribly young king. Octavius wouldn't dare think that Xena would befriend a boy only a few years older than her own daughter. She was old enough to be his mother. Samuel was an inexperienced king and Xena allied with him anyway, which that struck very odd in the emperor's mind.

There was also the young Arab king, Allat, who was a very good ally and friend with Xena. Allat was a bit older than Solan, but not by much and Octavius smiled thinking of Allat's dear late mother, Zenobia. His men slaughtered her because she was a threat. She wanted her Assyrian empire to grow further outside into Anatolia and Xena would have been in full support of that. He feared that Zenobia and Xena would join forces together and create a duo-empire to overthrow him. He wouldn't allow that to happen just like he wasn't going to allow Xena to overthrow him. She was older now, though her appearance looked as if time stood still which was most odd to him as well. He wondered what sorcery Xena had committed to somehow retain her good looks. He was beginning to think that she'd never die and live forever –forever haunting him even in his death.

The emperor pulled on the reins of his horse and halted his men. They came to the Spartan camp of the late General Laconicus. He looked inside and it looked pretty barren minus a few men working inside of the camp and the large villa on the hill within the gates. He saw the spear in the ground and the spearhead was rusted and darkened from old blood. He figured that's where Xena planted the General's head after she decapitated him. She was using her old tactics to scare off people including him, but that wasn't going to work.

He trotted in and the Spartans bowed their heads at him. He saw Gorgo watering a few plants outside of the villa and she turned to face him. A large frown appeared on her lips and he dismounted the steed. He approached her and curtly bowed his head. "Lady Gorgo," he smiled. "I am truly sorry about your husband. Laconicus was a great warrior and ally."

She set the watering pot down and placed her hands on her hips glaring at the emperor. "He was decapitated by the Empress. We were your allies and yet received no help from you or your men! This could have been avoided and he would still...be alive," she looked at the spear outside the gates. She refused to remove it so it may remind her what an awful person Xena was. She was not in control of where her husband's body was taken since Xena and her men left in haste.

Octavius nodded, "I understand your pain. We share the same feelings. I promise you the Empress will get what she deserves."

Gorgo frowned, "she has been Greece's ruler for so long, I don't believe even the Roman Emperor can get rid of her. She's a gorgon." She spat on the ground and the emperor blinked.

"Xena and I have been having a war with each other for more than two decades. She managed to win the first time, but I guarantee you that she will lose once and for all," he smiled deviously.

Gorgo had her doubts about that. Xena was a great warrior and now that she is allies with the Persians, her army is twice the size as the Roman army. "With all due respect, emperor," she began and saw the man's eyes widen, quite intrigued, "Xena has accumulated almost one hundred thousand men for her army. It will be difficult to defeat her even with your skilled men."

Octavius' eyes widened. He didn't think that Xena's army plus Samuel's army was quite that large. That was a lot more men than he had. He barely had forty thousand and she has almost one hundred? That didn't seem right. He narrowed his eyes taking a step closer to the woman. Whispering he asked, "where did you get this information from?"

She looked into his light eyes and frowned deeply, "I have friends in Athens. It is hardly news that the Greek Empire is at war with the Roman Empire. Everyone knows about it, though they trust their empress will save them and have no fear or worries about the war. They go on about their business just like any other day." She folded her arms.

Octavius lifted his chin, not liking the sound of this at all. "I see." He rubbed his chin then snapped his fingers at his men. "We ride to the source of the problem."

His men placed their hands over their hearts, bowing to their emperor. "Yes my lord." One of the men looked up in the sky, "Sir, a storm is expected to drown Greece for the next week."

The emperor smiled, "that will not delay our journey, my friend. We must leave at once then," He then turned to Gorgo and kissed her hand, "thank you for this information. I promise you will be rewarded greatly." He hastily made his way to his horse and mounted, riding off through the gated Spartan community. Next stop would be Athens and Xena would have no idea that he was coming. He grinned mischievously.

* * *

Gabrielle sat with Xena in bed as they looked over a large map of Greece and the Roman Empire's claimed areas. Xena was circling some areas and drew a lot of X's over certain spots in the Aegean Sea and the surrounding areas of Italia. "Do you think Octavius will use the same tactics he always does?" she asked.

Xena pursed her lips, "he has gotten older and hopefully wiser so I am hoping he uses the same tactics. It would surprise me if he attacked a different way. He always swarms people from the outskirts, but he can't do that if the naval fleet is guarding Greece's borders at all times."

Gabrielle nodded, "right but just one problem," she took the quill out of Xena's hand and circled the entire Mediterranean Sea and put a big X in the middle. "Rome doesn't have a good navy like Athens does. He would never attack by ship. You should remember this from twenty two years ago when I asked you to make your navy back down." She saw the realization in Xena's eyes. "It would be useless to use a third of the army for naval purposes. We should station them on land in various areas of Greece. Octavius likes to attack on land and Samuel's men are good archers."

The empress grinned, "so we use the Persian army on land and our army close to us." She nodded liking this idea far better. "This is why I have you here Gabrielle. You always have such good ideas," she grabbed the quill from her and began writing a note on the map to herself.

Gabrielle blinked, "wait can you say that again?"

Xena continued writing, "say what?" she looked up at Gabrielle's shocked face. "What?"

"Did you just say I have good ideas?" the blonde smugly grinned. "Come on, say it again. I don't hear it too often."

The brunette shook her head smirking. "Okay, you have good ideas." She placed the quill down on the parchment. "Happy now?"

"Yes in fact I am!" Gabrielle grinned. "You're in a good mood lately you know in the midst of this chaos."

Xena sighed leaning on the pillows behind her, "you can't let war get you down, Gabrielle. I am able to separate war from my personal life." She winked. The blonde came closer to her and leaned against her shoulder. "Gabrielle," she uttered quietly and the blonde peered up at her, staring into her eyes. "Thank you for always being there for me."

Gabrielle smiled and kissed Xena's cheek, "I said I would always be here for you, Xena. Many things change but that never will." She grabbed Xena's hand, toying with the empress's long slim fingers. "I am here to make your life easier," she jested.

"Let's not get carried away now," Xena said and Gabrielle gasped. "That was a joke."

She frowned, creasing her brows. "That is one thing I'll never get used to. Your jokes are not funny Xena," she sighed. "They're scary sometimes you know. I still never know when you're joking or not."

Xena exhaled dramatically, "well I guess that's one thing you'll never figure out about me." There was a gust of wind that entered the bedroom and the trees swayed violently in the wind. She frowned looking outside at the darkening sky. "A storm is coming here." The clouds were dark and looming over the sea. The water could be heard crashing against the palace walls.

"Maybe the gods can sense your dark mood," Gabrielle joked and looked to Xena's unapologetic face. "What? You can make jokes and I can't?" she scoffed.

"You're jokes aren't that funny either, Gabrielle." She said with a serious face.

Gabrielle stared at Xena for a silent moment then started laughing. "That was another one of your jokes, right?" she stared into Xena's blue eyes. They were blank and her face was stone. Her laughter died down as soon as she realized Xena was not joking about that. She felt somewhat offended.

Xena's lips then broke out into a cheeky grin and the irritated blonde frowned and punched her friend in the arm. Xena gasped and rubbed her arm. Man, she could really throw a punch. By the gods. "Gabrielle!"

"Looks like your immortal self is not susceptible to pain," she giggled and the empress grimaced still rubbing her sore arm. Suddenly she jumped off the bed and Xena raised an eyebrow looking to see where she was going. Gabrielle disappeared into Eve's vacant room next door and Xena waited patiently on the bed. Returning she had a box in her hands and she shut the door quietly. Hopping back on the bed Xena eyed her partner curiously.

"What is this you have here?" Xena reached for the box and Gabrielle slapped her hand. Xena frowned and rubbed her hand, retracting her hand.

Gabrielle grinned, hugging the medium sized box close to her chest, "no touching," she teasingly said and that only made the empress more curious. "I got something for Eve," she thought for a moment, "well it's not for her, but her babies." She grinned.

Xena's miffed face soon broke out into a large grin. She watched Gabrielle as she slowly opened the box and pulled out two small outfits. Xena instantly reached for them, grabbing them from Gabrielle's hands and laid them out on the bed in front of her. "I always said that you spoiled Eve...and I was right, you still do." She looked at the outfits and they looked brand new, just made by the seamstress in the palace. White fabric with gold trim, a matching set.

"You think that she will like it?" Gabrielle anxiously asked.

Xena eyed her with a knowing look, "if it's from you then she will definitely love it." she brushed the wrinkles out in the fabric and then a loud clap of thunder roared in the skies. Both of them slightly jumped and grinned at one another.

Gabrielle folded the outfits and placed them back into the box. "I think being a mother will be good for Eve," she said and Xena cocked her head to the side, confused at that. She chuckled, "Eve is a wild child and likes to do things her own way. She will learn to calm down. It will be good for her."

Xena couldn't agree more. "She will have her hands full and we won't have to worry about her running off or disobeying us both," she smiled slyly and Gabrielle exhaled, thinking that was going to be a relief. She began to think about a time when Eve went behind her back only to go to Gabrielle for help. "Gabrielle, do you remember when Eve was ten and she tricked you into taking her to a party in the Boys Academy in Athens?"

Gabrielle frowned folding her arms, not wishing to rehash that memory. "She didn't say it was a  _party_. She said that she was going to be studying with a few friends."

Xena laughed, "I can't believe you believed her!" she saw the annoyed look on Gabrielle's face. "As if Eve ever studied. She asked me if she could go and I said no because there were older boys there."

"That was one time! Geez..." Gabrielle sighed, not liking this story at all. "Never trust a ten year old," she grumbled.

Xena's laughter died down and saw her consort was a bit irritated. "That's alright Gabrielle. I allowed her to go to Persia and she came back pregnant and with a king." Gabrielle broke out in a weak smile. "I think I win," she teased.

"Never trust a twenty two year old either," Gabrielle teased back. "Lesson learned." She nodded and Xena rolled her eyes. Both looked outside and saw rain pouring down violently. Gabrielle got up and looked outside to see the dark gloomy sky. The sea was definitely not calm either, waves crashing against the side of the palace. She peered down and saw more than seven feet of water rising. Stepping away she saw Xena relaxing on her bed. "I haven't seen a storm like this in a long time."

Xena sighed, "looks like we are trapped here for a few days then," she grinned. She rolled up the map and scooted over patting the empty spot next to her. "Gives us more time together and less time discussing Octavius," she invited Gabrielle to sit with her.

Gabrielle smiled and hopped onto the bed and a gust of wind blew out the candles in the room. Her eyes widened and looked to Xena, a bit fearful. "Are you afraid of storms, Gabrielle?" she teased with mischief in her eyes.

The blonde grumbled, sinking lower in the bed, "no, it's just rain," she mumbled and leaned in closer to Xena and lightening lit up the dark sky and thunder roared. She gripped onto Xena's leg and the empress' eyes grew.

"Not afraid huh," Xena teased grabbing Gabrielle's hand.

"I'm not afraid," Gabrielle defended herself, although she clung tightly to Xena. She looked up at the empress' smug face. "I'm not," she reiterated.

"Whatever you say Gabrielle."

* * *

Down in the large meeting area inside the palace Eve, Solan and Samuel gathered together, playing a friendly game of jenga in the middle of the unexpected storm. All three remained silent as Eve was pulling out a piece out the center of the four foot tower of wooden blocks. She carefully pulled out the block and smiled then placed the piece on top of the tower.

"Beat that boys," she grinned sneakily. Samuel and Solan stared at one another, thinking how Eve was able to pull that piece out. It was like she defied all laws of physics. The tower should have fallen by now but it was still standing. They had been playing the game for four hours now.

Samuel downed the rest of his wine and stood up from the sofa, examining the jenga tower. Eve sat down watching him testing the tower's ability to stand. "I don't know how you did it Eve..." he rubbed his chin pensively. He reached for a piece towards left center and Solan grabbed his wrist.

"Don't get that piece! It's going to fall!" he exclaimed. The Persian groaned and pushed his hand away.

"Relax, it's not going to fall," he bit his bottom lip and leaned forward looking at the tower. He peered through an empty slot and saw Eve's smug face. He grinned and started pulling out the piece and Solan's eyes widened. Samuel saw the tower begin to lean and he cringed, slowly pulling the piece out swiftly and the tower leaned to the right but then centered itself. He chuckled lowly and placed the wooden block on top of Eve's block she took out.

Solan and Samuel gave each other a high-five and Samuel looked at Eve's smiling face. "And that's how you do it, princess."

"Is that so?" Eve said and pointed at the tower. It was beginning to lean to the right now and both men gasped and slowly the tower crashed onto the floor. She jumped up and clamped her hands together. "I win!"

Samuel sighed and Solan folded his arms. "Told you so," he mumbled to the Persian. He looked over at his sister beaming and he grinned. "Congratulations Eve, you win... _again_." he sighed.

"Don't be such a spoiled sport, Solan. I'm sure you'll win next time," Eve falsely pouted and pat his back teasingly.

Solan brushed it off, "we would have won if  _somebody_ ," he glared at Samuel, "didn't pull out the wrong block."

Samuel gasped, "I was sure it wasn't going to fall!" he folded his arms frowning.

Eve smiled watching the two throw a minor tantrum over a silly game. "Boys, you both lost. Just face it, you both suck at jenga." She shrugged and the two men looked at her blinking. "We can play chess next."

Solan shook his head and downed the wine, "no way! I am not going to play chess with you!" he began walking off with the wine bottle in his hand. "You have magical powers when it comes to playing chess."

Samuel grinned, "thanks to me."

Eve frowned, "I beat you many times in chess."

He chuckled, "yeah but I'm the one who taught you."

Her mouth gaped, "no you didn't, Solan taught me!"

"Well he obviously taught you how to lose," he teased and Eve nudged him in his ribs. He winced rubbing his side and Solan sighed, walking off leaving the two to argue among themselves.

* * *

In the middle of the night Octavius and his men arrived in Athens. They were a few miles from Xena's grand palace. He had his cloak on hiding under a large tree from the storm. The rain swayed in the wind, blocking some of his view. He saw the large Grecian palace on the hillside, secluded from everything. It was dark there but there were many rooms lit still this late in the evening and it would be morning in about four hours.

One of his men came running towards him in soaked clothing. He wiped his mouth and breathed heavily. "Sir, we found the dam. It's just right up the hill, about a mile from the Empress's palace."

He grinned, "good," he stared at the large palace completely out of harm's way. "Break the dam." He said and his men nodded, heading off on their horses in the dark of the night. "Xena shall drown in her own sea's tears," he folded his arms and saw a light go out in the palace's open windows. Smirking he trotted through the storm to follow his men towards the dam.

* * *

Early the next morning, there was no sun in the sky and Eve opened her eyes to see it was still raining violently. She saw Samuel still sleeping and smiled at him. She yawned, thinking it probably wasn't the best idea to stay up late playing games with Samuel and her brother. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up and realized she was standing in a foot of water. Her eyes widened and jumped back onto the bed.

She panicked and shook Samuel's body. "Samuel!" she yelled and he woke up to her violently shaking his body. He grumpily opened his eyes and saw concern on her face.

"What is it?" he sat up and touched her face. She pointed to the room and his eyes grew in fear. "Oh..." he saw there was a foot of water in the room and quickly got out of bed and saw his shoes were soaked and floating elsewhere. His clothes were also soaked. He was only wearing his pants and had no shirt. Groaning he grabbed Eve's hand as they waded through the water slowly. He tried to open the door and clenched his teeth he pushed the door open with his shoulder and saw the entire hallway was filled with water. "What in God's name..." he mumbled.

"This has never happened before even in the worst storms..." Eve clung to his arm and saw the staircase leading to her mother's room was halfway underwater. "My mother is in her room with Gabrielle."

He sighed, "find someplace dry and I will go up there," he said and waded through the cold water, drenching his pants. The water was continuing to rise and as he came closer to the grand staircase he was now waist deep in the water.

Finally making it up the stairs he groaned and saw two guards posted outside Xena's bedroom. He walked closer and they stared at him. "I need to speak with the empress." The two guards wouldn't allow him in and he folded his arms. "It's urgent." Still not letting him through they blocked his path crossing their javelins. "I don't have time for this," he threw them aside and opened the doors to see Xena asleep and Gabrielle beside her.

He raised an eyebrow and Xena woke up seeing a shirtless Samuel in front of her bed. She frowned and nudged Gabrielle awake. "What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"Your palace is going to become the next Atlantis," he said cryptically. Xena looked at Gabrielle, unsure what he meant. She grabbed her robe wrapping it around her black slit gown. She left her room and saw the guards on the floor. Gabrielle followed and Samuel lead the way.

He saw the look in her eyes and he grinned sheepishly, "you'll forgive me later," he ran down the hall and both women followed him. He stood at the top of the stairs as the water had risen quite a lot in a short amount of time. Xena joined him and her eyes widened seeing her entire palace turning into the sea itself.

Gabrielle caught up and gasped, covering her mouth, "by the gods," she mumbled.

Xena frowned, "the dams have been broken," she looked to see the rain was speeding up the process and the water continued to rise inside. She then looked to Samuel, "where is Eve?"

"I told her to get somewhere dry. I don't know where she went," he knew that didn't sound too good but it was the truth. She groaned and stepped down on the stairs.

"Go find Solan," she demanded and continued to wade in the water, now up to her breasts. Gabrielle sighed and followed Xena, grabbing onto her shoulder for guidance through the water.

Gabrielle clung onto Xena, "this hasn't happened before, right?" she said feeling a bit fearful of this entire experience.

"No, someone manually broke the dam," she frowned, looking around. "We need to get everyone out of here," thinking of all the children in the other wing of the palace. They probably had no idea what was going on, but luckily that wing was on higher ground than hers and hopefully the water was not as high as it was over in this wing.

Gabrielle nodded, "on it," she let go of Xena and realized she was too short to touch the ground. This was going to be a difficult task to get to the other side of the palace. She cursed Xena for having such a large home. "What about Eve?" she called out now a good few feet away.

Xena nodded, "I will find her, just get everyone out," she looked around at what a disaster this was. She suspected Octavius was at play here. Actually, she had no doubt it was him and that only infuriated her more. Wading through the water she pushed tables out of her way and vases floating the water. The palace only gave an eerie vibe because all the candles were blown out and the dark skies were not helping with the storm still alive and well. "Eve?" she called out and went through the large doors in the grand hallway pushing items out of her way she groaned, quite annoyed at this entire situation. She hoped that Gabrielle would be able to get everyone out in a peaceful manner, but if the palace was under water, that only meant the entire city was underwater as well.

She called out to Eve once more and heard Eve's voice from up above. She looked up and saw Eve on the third floor of the palace. Xena smiled, thankful to see Eve was well and in one piece. "We need to leave right now!" she waded over to the stairs and climbed up, her heavy soaked robe pulling her down.

Eve ran to her mother and hugged her tightly. "Where is Gabrielle?"

"She's helping the children get out of the palace," she wrapped her arm around Eve and saw the rain begin to seep through the ceiling. Frowning she clung to her tightly, "we need to go," both stepped off the stairs and back into the cold water. Summer had long gone over a month ago and autumn was here for a short time. Winter would arrive in two months and the water was freezing. Xena squeezed Eve's hand as tight as she could. "Don't let go of me." Eve nodded.

Together the two waded through the water, now the water rising to their shoulders, Eve clung tightly to her mother, afraid to let go. Xena groaned and grabbed a sword off the wall since she didn't really have time to grab any other weapon from her bedroom. She saw Samuel and Solan not far ahead of them.

Solan was thankful to see his sister with his mother. "Eve!" he grinned and Eve smiled at him.

Xena pushed Eve forward, "Solan take Eve and get out of here. Samuel and I will help Gabrielle."

Solan grabbed onto Eve's arm and she wrapped her hands around his arm. She looked back at Samuel and he winked at her, trying to ease her concern. "You'll be fine with Solan," he said and she nodded. Xena pulled Samuel along in the opposite direction to find Gabrielle and the children.

* * *

Gabrielle was now ankle deep in water in the student wing escorting children out of their rooms. A small girl came up to Gabrielle tugging on her knee length skirt, "are we having a pool party?"

Gabrielle sighed smiling at the innocent child, "no we're not. Just keep following the other children, okay?" she pushed her along and kept the children in one line getting them out as fast as she could by herself.

Xena showed up with Samuel, completely drenched. Gabrielle gasped audibly and kept gently guiding the children to the exit. "Thank the gods you're here Xena. Did you find Eve?"

"She's with Solan," Xena saw the children walking out of the palace looking very confused. It was very lucky that none of them drowned and this wing was on higher ground than the other half of the palace, but the water was rising and she couldn't control it. she could control a lot of things, but this was one thing she couldn't.

"Your men are outside helping the children get out of the palace and onto higher ground." Gabrielle said, "I think we're almost done here." She smiled at the confused faces of all the children.

Xena checked all of the other rooms but they were empty. Gabrielle did pretty well for doing this all by herself although she shouldn't be surprised. "Gabrielle," she said aloud, trying not to alarm the children, "I think this is Octavius' doing. The dam has never broken even in the most violent storms. This has his name written all over it."

Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear, "do you really think he would do something like this?"

Xena raised an eyebrow nodding her head, "yes! He's trying to kill me!" she said and the smallest child out of the bunch looked up at her. Xena nervously smiled down at the young boy and he blinked. Gabrielle quickly ushered him out of the palace to follow the rest of the students.

"We need to create a new dam," Samuel said immediately thinking of a new plan. He noticed the water was now up to his and Xena's knees and Gabrielle's waist. "But we should get out of here first," he said and waded through the water following the children.

* * *

Solan and Eve made it to the highest hill outside of the palace grounds. Solan wrapped his arms around her and looked to see everyone get out safely. He then saw Xena and Gabrielle with Samuel exit the palace as well. "They made it out," he said and Eve looked over and smiled at them all.

Xena blinked, squinting her eyes as the rain blurred her vision. She saw Octavius on his horse with a few of his Roman soldiers. She saw a smile on his face and she frowned at him. He waved at her and that only irritated her more.

Gabrielle came to stand next to Xena and saw who she was looking at. "That bastard," Xena grumbled as she saw him ride off with his men. She was lost now, her home was gone and everyone was scattered around the area. Her army was still available but there were still not enough. Octavius had destroyed her city and home in a matter of a few short hours. She had underestimated his tactics. This was not a war, this was a game. A game that he is going to lose, she told herself.

"He is playing a dirty game," Xena uttered and Gabrielle grabbed her arm firmly. "He will  _lose_."


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: battle is nearing, but not quite here just yet. Enjoy this part I of II :)**

Chapter 26 – _Desert Winds Part I_

They all had no choice but to go to one of Xena's largest voyage ships. She used this ship formally and definitely wasn't a war ship and commonly used it to travel to faraway places across the vast seas. The ship was docked close to the palace and since they couldn't go back inside their home, they would have to camp out here for awhile until Xena thought of a plan to station everyone.

The rain continued to pour down and the ship gently swayed on the water. Everyone was below deck to fend off from the storm. The massive ship had six rooms below and a gathering area in the middle of the ship. Eve and Samuel sat together on a chaise lounge and Solan sat in a chair opposite them. Gabrielle sat on an ottoman looking at Xena as she paced around back and forth, talking silently to herself.

"Why would Octavius do something like that?" Solan rubbed his chin thinking aloud. "It's not really his style. I could see Marc Antony doing something like that but not Octavius." He shook his head thinking of the entire situation.

Gabrielle sighed having enough of Xena's silence fill the room. She walked to her and grabbed her arm, Xena halted and stared into her green eyes with fury. "Xena, you're making me sick just looking at you pace around like this."

Xena snatched her arm away from her and continued walking around in circles. "He really wants me gone, Gabrielle. He attacked my home!" she yelled and everyone fell silent, staring at her irate state. "Everything I have worked so hard for is now gone..." she folded her arms, now the realization of the situation setting in. Her entire palace was under water as was her entire city. She had lived in that palace for over thirty years and everything was ruined. All her scrolls and important documents, her library that Gabrielle built, was now gone. Her life was gone.

"The important thing is that nobody is hurt," Gabrielle said trying to ease the mood, though she feared that wasn't going to make Xena feel better. She saw the sorrow in her eyes and her silence proved her anger towards the Roman was heightened because of this catastrophe.

Xena let out a much needed exasperated sigh. She couldn't fix her palace, but Gabrielle was right. Everyone was alive and safe. That mattered more to her than a building, even though it was her home it was after all a thing and things could be replaced. People could not be replaced and so she took a step back, thanking the gods above for allowing her family to be safe. This was not a normal war and Octavius was going to try everything to destroy her. He already struck a chord in that department. He destroyed her home and did it so tactfully too. It was unexpected and completely out of character for him. Xena now understood that the Roman Emperor had completely lost it and was determined to get rid of everything she loved in order to see her fall.

"So," Solan said and his mother turned to him, "where are we going to go now? We can't exactly go back home..." he admitted sadly. Eve smiled weakly and placed a hand on her brother's knee.

Xena thought for a moment and reverted back to a place that was her second home for quite some time. "Egypt," she announced and Gabrielle's mouth gaped. "We will be out of Octavius' reach there."

Eve rolled her eyes and lolled her head on the chaise lounge, staring up at the ceiling. "I hate Egypt," she folded her arms. "I spent half of my life in Cairo. I don't want to go back there."

"Well it's not like we have a choice," Gabrielle said not finding Eve's complaining the best idea right now.

Xena shook her head, "not Cairo. That would be too obvious," she bit her bottom lip then saw her daughter's confused face. Of course there was a palace in Cairo that Xena had, but if they fled there, Octavius would know. Xena knew that Eve hated Egypt, but in reality it was because she was uplifted from her home in Athens and taken there reluctantly and not by her choice. Eve spent most of her life in Cairo, learning to make new friends at an awkward age in a different society who also spoke a different language and had different customs. It was a good learning experience for them all and Gabrielle soon became to love Egypt and often spent her time in Alexandria over the years.

Gabrielle touched Xena's arm. "If not Cairo, then where?" she wasn't aware that Xena had any outposts anywhere else besides Alexandria and Cairo.

"Luxor," Xena said and Solan raised a curious brow. Gabrielle looked very confused. "It is just down the Nile. I have a palace there as well."

"Since when?" Gabrielle asked, quite shocked to hear this new news.

Xena smiled sneakily, "I had one commissioned while we were in Cairo. I did not mope around like most believed." She still couldn't stop looking at everyone's faces especially her own daughter's. she sighed hearing the rain coming down on the deck above. "We will have to leave soon. The storm will let up in a few days, but as soon as we get out of Greece, the storm should not follow us."

She left and went to her room and Gabrielle immediately followed her. As soon as they entered the room Gabrielle closed the door and placed her hands on her hips. "So we're just going to ignore the fact that you have a secret palace in Luxor?"

"It's not a secret anymore now is it, Gabrielle?" Xena said with a snide tone.

Gabrielle frowned and sat on the bed watching Xena take off her soaked robe and gown to change into something else. "What's with your attitude?" she said and Xena ignored her. "Don't do this again, Xena. You always do this."

"I'm not doing  _anything_ ," Xena half smiled, finding Gabrielle a bit annoying at the moment. She slipped on some pants and a black fitted tunic.

"Yes you are. You're shutting everyone out like you always do when you're in a bad mood." Xena gave her a disapproving look and Gabrielle frowned. "Don't look at me like that. You know it's true." She felt a bit flabbergasted. "I didn't even know you had a palace in Luxor! Why would you have a palace in Luxor anyway?"

Xena sighed feeling a headache coming on. "I have my reasons Gabrielle and it will work in our favor. So would you just drop it?"

"No, I'm not going to just drop it, Xena. Stop pushing me away like you always do," Gabrielle was getting more irritated the more Xena calmly refuted her. "We're supposed to help one another and I can't do that if you block me out."

Silence. Xena closed the curtains to the window and lit a few candles. Gabrielle watched Xena as she completely ignored her.

"Wow, alright." Gabrielle groaned and Xena turned with a blank face. "Doesn't this sound familiar to you? The last war we had with Octavius twenty two years ago, you pushed me away and wanted to do things on your own without any help. This time it's different, Xena. You need to stop thinking about yourself and start –"

"I am  _not_  thinking about myself, Gabrielle!" Xena spat back and Gabrielle closed her mouth. "I'm thinking about you, about Eve, Solan, Samuel...everyone! I don't need a lecture from you right now. I need...solace," she wrapped her arms around herself and sat on the bed, hanging her head lowly hiding behind the veil of dark hair.

Gabrielle sighed, not really thinking about Xena's feelings. She bottled them inside her and it took her quite a long time to release them, sometimes years. She thought this was a lot of progress considering how Xena was. She leaned her head against Xena's shoulder and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I am not upset at you, I guess I'm just processing all of this just like you are."

"I lost everything," Xena whispered and lifted her head. Gabrielle looked at Xena and saw a tear stream down her face. Gabrielle's eyes widened in shock. It was a rare sight to see Xena shed a tear and if she did, then that must mean that she truly was hurting inside.

"You still have me," Gabrielle smiled and Xena wiped her cheek, not wishing to show her emotions any more than she already has. "We can rebuild. We have been through worse things than this," she attempted to comfort the solemn empress.

Xena turned and smiled towards Gabrielle, bobbing her head. "You're right Gabrielle." She sighed and wiped her eyes standing up, fixing her top. "I want Solan and Samuel to stay in Athens to round up the army to help the citizens in the city."

Gabrielle grinned, liking that Xena was able to turn herself around and she allowed herself to release some pent up emotions. "That's a good idea. What about Eve?"

"She will be coming with us to Luxor. After what just happened I don't want her out of my sight," she slipped on her boots and head out of the room to alert Samuel and Solan of the plan.

* * *

Three days later they were getting close to the port of Alexandria and from there they would take the rest of the journey by horse to get to Luxor. It wasn't as lush as Cairo and was in the middle of the hottest part of the desert, which made it difficult for enemies to find them. Xena had commissioned to build a palace there ten years ago just in case she would need it later and this was the perfect time to take the opportunity to hide out there.

Xena stood on the deck enjoying the bright sun. They traveled through rain for more than a day and the rest of the trip was sunny. She only hoped that Solan and Samuel would be successful in gathering all of the army in the middle of that awful storm. They also didn't have anywhere to go since the palace was under water. She hated to think about it so she chose not to.

Below the deck Gabrielle was with Eve in one of the larger bedrooms. Gabrielle was able to find one of Xena's dresses for Eve to wear. She didn't exactly seem too happy about it considering it was clung to her every curve and the sleeves were quite long as her mother was a bit taller than she was.

Eve sighed and fanned herself with a cloth fan she found in her mother's drawer. It looked to be from Qin. "It's so hot," she complained and Gabrielle smiled, dipping the quill in the ink pad, continuing to write. Eve rolled up her sleeves and leaned against a pillow, wiping the sweat off her brow. "How can you write at a time like this, Gabrielle?"

" _When_  is the best time, then?" Gabrielle retorted with a smirk and wrote the last of her thoughts. She put the quill down and saw the princess was definitely uncomfortable and not enjoying this ship ride at all. She got up and grabbed a glass of water and handed it to Eve. She thanked her and downed the water immediately. "I guess you forgot how hot it was in Egypt."

Eve sighed and shifted, sitting up, leaning her back against the bed's frame. "Isn't Luxor in the hottest part of Egypt?" her eyes were filled with concern. Gabrielle nodded and Eve groaned and threw her head on the pillow behind her staring at the ceiling. "I'm going to melt."

Xena entered the room and saw Eve fanning herself and she was also wearing an old dress of hers. It was an emerald green with black lace on the sleeves and neckline. "That's one of my favorite dresses," she eyed Gabrielle and the blonde grinned sheepishly at her. "I got it in Corinth thirty years ago." She poured a glass of water for herself, finding it very hot, definitely hotter than Athens ever was.

"I really want to rip the sleeves off," the princess said and Xena blinked, seeing her daughter's cheeks were flushed and obvious she was getting irritated from the heat.

"Well I guess you could but I really –" Xena said and Eve immediately tore off the sleeves and threw them aside. The princess sighed, feeling cooler already and she continued to fan herself. Gabrielle's eyes danced back and forth between Eve and Xena. She saw a shocked look on Xena's face and wondered what she was going to do. "Feel better?" Xena raised an eyebrow as she saw the ripped sleeves on the floor beside her boots.

Eve nodded, "yes, a lot better." She turned to see her mother's devastated face. "Oh, I'm sorry mother, but it's just really hot and –"

Xena held her hand up and grinned, "it's alright. It's just a dress," she sat on the opposite side of Eve and brushed a few tendrils away from her face. "We should be in Cairo soon and then we'll ride to Luxor." She saw the instant fear and disappointment in Eve's face. Gabrielle stifled a laugh seeing Eve's face. She was not excited about that. Xena crossed her legs and leaned against the pillows, drinking the water in silence.

Gabrielle sat back in the chair and began writing again. Xena smirked, "what are you writing about Gabrielle?"

The blonde lifted her eyes and dipped her quill in the ink pad, "it's not finished yet. You can read it when I am done writing it," she began jotting down her ideas and Xena looked at Eve, both sharing a similar knowing look. Gabrielle hadn't written anything in awhile, at least, not anything to her liking, besides treaties and letters she wrote for Xena. She didn't have the time to write for herself.

"How are those two doing in there?" Xena asked her daughter, speaking of the twins. Eve finally broke out in a smile and then sighed.

"Probably complaining about the heat as much as I have been," she jested. She placed her hand over her stomach and felt small flutters against her palm. "They don't allow me to sleep when I want to."

Gabrielle laughed and Eve turned with raised eyebrows. "Get used to that," she didn't lift her head and kept writing.

Xena placed her hand over Eve's and smiled nervously, "what Gabrielle is trying to say is...you should sleep as much as possible."

"It gets worse?" Eve's eyes grew in fear and Xena looked at her apologetically. "Oh, I am  _really_  excited now," she added sarcastically. She let out a sigh and looked to her mother. "It could be worse I guess."

"You're so right, Eve but you have two babies, not one. You're going to be sleep deprived for awhile," Gabrielle grinned and Eve was now fearing life right now. Xena rolled her eyes and covered her face with her hand, wishing Gabrielle wasn't so talkative right now.

"Aren't you supposed to be writing?" Xena snapped and Gabrielle bit her bottom lip, continuing to write in silence. She turned Eve's chin towards her. "Don't pay attention to her. We will help you and Samuel will be with you." She hoped that would ease her daughter's anxiety for now and that Gabrielle would keep her mouth shut.

"When are we getting off this ship?" Eve asked, now her nerves catching up to her.

Xena rubbed Eve's back, "very soon I promise," she grazed her daughter's cheek and she was very warm. "You're very warm, you feel alright?" she frowned, now becoming concerned. It seemed like Eve was complaining about the heat but it seemed like she more warm than usual.

Gabrielle set the quill down and dipped a cloth in some water and came over to dab Eve's forehead. Xena adjusted the pillows and laid Eve back further, brushing her hair away from her face. "She's probably just overheated," Gabrielle said trying to ease the mood. Xena nodded and kissed Eve's forehead.

"I'm going to see how close we are," Xena said smiling at Eve and left the room. Gabrielle stayed with Eve, continuing to dab her forehead with the damp cloth.

"You should probably eat," Gabrielle said and dried her hands off then left to get some food or what little they had until they would reach Egypt.

* * *

Solan was on his horse looking at the army helping the people evacuate Athens. Samuel was instructing his men to blockade Athens from preventing anyone coming in. They still had to look out for the Romans and Octavius because Solan knew that they would not be far.

"Is Xena going to come back to Athens?" Samuel asked, shielding his eyes from the rain.

Solan looked at the citizens now leaving their homes. He was on the lookout for the Romans. "I think so but she has to take Eve to Luxor. I'm sure she'll show up with Gabrielle."

Samuel sighed, "I hope Eve will be alright."

Solan pat the Persian's back, giving some sort of comfort towards him. "If she's with my mother and Gabrielle, she'll be fine."

Samuel didn't seem convinced. "She was complaining that she wasn't feeling well before the storm." He looked to Solan and he had that same face that Xena and Eve both shared. He didn't seem too happy that he revealed this information to him and it was a bit late now because Eve was gone off to Egypt. Samuel looked away, staring at his men. "Her stomach was bothering her, but I'm sure Xena and Gabrielle will take care of her if it worsens."

Solan grabbed Samuel's arm tightly, "you should have told my mother before they left!" he was now furious that he and his sister did not breathe a word about this and now they were gone. Hopefully they were in Egypt now. "You should pray to the gods that she's alright."

"I don't pray to multiple gods," Samuel said and Solan raised an eyebrow. "I'm Zoroastrian." He said and this meant nothing to Solan, nor did he care what religion Samuel was associated with.

Solan rolled his head, holding the bridge of his nose. "Eve is going to be your wife and she's the mother of your children. I think you should pay more attention to detail."

Samuel nodded, he wasn't going to refute that. He felt like he was already failing at being a good husband and father to his children. "You're right," he said and that shocked Solan. He and Samuel never agreed on anything since they met and their relationship wasn't very stable most times. "I do care about Eve  _and_  our children. I should have told your mother, but I thought she was feeling better." He cursed to himself. "I am going to be a horrible father," now chastising himself, feeling sorry for himself Solan sighed.

The prince placed a hand on the Persian's shoulder, "you shouldn't say things like that. I didn't have a father or a mother growing up, but I wish that I did." He smiled sadly, "you have everything that you want right in front of you and you'll be there for Eve and your children." He became more serious, "but if you hurt my sister in any way I will –"

"Kill me, I know," Samuel smirked and Solan nodded. He knew exactly what Solan would do to him and he believed him. He was Xena's son and they both never backed down from a threat or promise. He wasn't scared of Solan but he had to be mindful that Solan was Eve's brother and he obviously was very protective of her. "I will keep her safe, I promise." He said on a serious note.

One of the Persian soldiers came riding up to them and he bowed his head curtly to them both. "Your highness, the Roman Emperor has entered Athens."

Samuel frowned and looked around to see where he was but couldn't find him. "Where is he?"

"Just over that hill, sir," he bowed his head and Samuel nodded, waving his hand to dismiss the soldier.

Solan pulled the reins on his horse, "well let's go meet the sorry bastard," he rode off and Samuel's mouth gaped, he soon followed him. Both completely drenched from the rain. Solan obviously wanted a piece of Octavius but without Xena here this meant that Samuel had full control of Greece per their agreement in case one was absent. He didn't really know Octavius, certainly not as well as Solan did. He was lucky that he had him here.

* * *

Octavius waited in the woods on the hillside and saw Solan approaching him with the young Persian King behind him. He thought it was odd that the king was staying inside of Xena's palace. When he saw him exit he knew that was very suspicious. The two seemed to have a very warm homey agreement with one another, which was also odd because Xena's allies were never that friendly to her and vice versa.

"Solan, so nice to see you again," the emperor grinned. The blonde prince grimaced at him and pulled his hood off, running his fingers through his wet hair.

Samuel took off his hood as well and his long locks were soaked. Octavius eyed him cautiously and grinned at him. "you must be the King of Persia. It is nice to meet you finally. I didn't know you were staying with the empress. It's very odd that she invites guests into her home."

Solan rolled his eyes, "it's none of your business. Why are you here? Since my mother is not here I cannot kill you...so this will be diplomatic as possible."

Octavius chuckled, "as you wish, Solan. You would have made such a great Roman. Too bad you went to live with your mother." He sighed thinking of those days when he was just a boy, too naive and now he was a man and a slave to his mother's dying empire. "Xena wanted a war so I gave her one."

Samuel spoke before Solan could, "I control Athens in Xena's place. You have no business being here and that was a personal attack not a diplomatic one. You attacked Xena's home and that enters you in a whole other level of war, Octavius."

The Roman Emperor frowned at this man's tone with him. He was such a young king and so inexperienced. He didn't even know what war looked like and here he was scolding him on what to do during wars and what not to do. "Your mother and I have been fighting each other since you could barely walk. You have never seen war, you're just a child, no older than the Greek Princess."

Samuel frowned, "don't underestimate me, emperor. My army could wipe out yours any day," he smugly grinned. Solan blinked, not sure that was the best thing to say.

"Wow, is that a threat?" Octavius was surprised at the arrogance in this young king.

"That's a promise. Xena and I will destroy you, God willing," he looked to the sky lifting his hands silently praying. The Roman scoffed and shook his head.

"That's a big promise that I wish to see you try and fulfill, but where is the empress now? She has fled the scene once again!" he laughed. "She's always running from me. I have yet to meet face to face with her and she took Gabrielle and that daughter of hers too."

Solan frowned, "don't mention Eve's name. She is not involved in this war, Octavius."

The emperor saw a pained expression on the king's face and he was beginning to connect the dots when he mentioned the princess. It was beginning to make sense now. "I have no quarrels with the princess, don't worry your pretty head Solan. Although I am beginning to understand the alliance with the Persians. It is more clear to me," he winked and Samuel's eyes widened. Solan unsheathed his sword pointing it at the emperor.

"Leave Greece, Octavius. There is nothing here for you," he demanded that the emperor leave at once.

Octavius nodded, "I will be back and I hope to see Xena in the battlefield. We will see who the real victor is." He whistled at his men and they rode off deep into the forest, retreating.

Solan breathed out, thankful that didn't have to get messy. Samuel looked rather concerned, or pissed off, he wasn't sure. He was not able to read his face. "That could have been a lot worse," he sheathed his sword once more. "That was really bold of you to talk to Octavius like that, you know."

"Xena is right. He needs to be eliminated off this planet. I don't want him to come near your mother, Gabrielle and Eve anymore. He is a pain," he spat on the ground and Solan smiled, really liking the king's attitude. Before he was slightly irritated at him but now this is what he wanted to hear. Samuel was always so nice and sweet towards Eve, but he was a good king, just like Xena had said.

"I'm beginning to really like you, Samuel," Solan smiled and trotted off.

The Persian grinned, finally being on Solan's good side for once. He rode after him back to see how the men were rounding up the Athenians.

* * *

Finally after quite a long ride Xena, Gabrielle and Eve made it to the secret palace in Luxor, although by the looks of it, it definitely wasn't secret. It was quite large and didn't help that there two large statues of the god, Horus, probably over one hundred feet tall, in the entrance. The place really was a desert, even though the Nile was just along the palace, it was very hot.

Now they reached the palace by nightfall and it was already winter in Egypt and the desert was freezing at this time of year. Eve fell asleep through the entire journey from Alexandria to Luxor since Xena was somehow able to get a caravan thinking it best that Eve not ride on a horse since she wasn't feeling well.

Even though the palace was vacant it seemed that Xena employed many people to live there and keep up the place while she was away. Gabrielle was beginning to wonder when Xena had time to do all of this secret business planning without her knowing for all these years, but she supposed she shouldn't question it, considering it was pulling in their favor at the moment.

One of the men that worked in the palace as a guard carried Eve inside and found a room on the lower floor. He placed her on the bed and Xena followed behind with Gabrielle at her side. He turned to Xena and bowed his head to her. "Thank you Mehmet," she smiled and he graciously smiled back at her.

"Anything for you, Xena," he grinned at Gabrielle then quickly left the room.

Xena pulled the blankets off and covered Eve. Gabrielle still couldn't get over the look of this place. It was completely furnished and she was sure that every bedroom in this place was furnished just like this one. Eve opened her eyes and saw her mother and Gabrielle standing over her.

"Hey there," Gabrielle smiled and Eve looked around and saw she was in a bed and also in a room that was definitely Egyptian and not Grecian at all. It reminded her of Cairo and her bedroom in that palace that she spent many years in as a teenager. Gabrielle sat down, touching Eve's cheek. "How do you feel now?"

Eve sat up and immediately felt cold. She forgot how cold it could get in Egypt during winter season. "I still feel hot," she touched her forehead and even though it was freezing outside she could feel the heat radiating off of her. Suddenly she felt her stomach churning and she placed her hand over her abdomen, cringing.

Xena raised an eyebrow, not really liking seeing her daughter so ill. She had a feeling that she was ill before they left Greece and didn't say anything about it. "Gabrielle, go find one of the maids to bring some food and water to this room."

Gabrielle blinked, "there's maids here? Xena do you have any more hidden palaces I should know about?"

Xena smiled, "no Gabrielle. Could you...please?" she pleaded and Gabrielle half smiled nodding her head and squeezed Xena's shoulder before she left the room to find this so called maid. She brought her attention back to her daughter and pushed her back gently onto the pillows. "You need to rest, you have a fever."

Eve sighed and immediately felt panic settle in. Looking down at the two lives growing inside her Xena saw the panic in her eyes. Her mother's hand came to rest on her abdomen and Eve looked up at her. "Don't worry about them, they will be fine," she smiled reassuring her daughter.

"Are you sure?" Eve questioned, still feeling skeptical. She felt two small feet jab her in her side and frowned.

Xena grinned as she felt that jab against her palm "I am sure," her hand roamed over her daughter's belly, finding this a lot more amusing and comforting than dealing with matters of war at the moment. Eve saw a gleeful look on her mother's face and she hadn't seen her look that way in such a long time and it definitely brought a smile on her lips.

Gabrielle returned with a tray of a lot of food, more than she asked for actually, but once she said Xena was here, they were more than happy to give her food to take to the princess. She set the tray down on the bedside table and smiled seeing Xena looking quite peaceful, which was unusual. "Having fun?" Gabrielle said and Xena turned to her, not realizing she had returned.

"I can't wait to meet them," Xena lifted her eyebrows and Gabrielle smiled, enjoying seeing Xena's joyful mood.

Eve grinned, "you will have many stories to tell them I'm sure," she said and her mother eyed her carefully.

"Only the good ones," she sighed then saw the tray of food. "I should leave you alone. You need to eat something. It's been a long journey," she smiled and pat her daughter's leg before getting off the bed.

Xena grabbed Gabrielle's arm leading them out of the room. They stood at the entrance, slightly closing the door and Xena looked around making sure nobody was around. "We need to go back and help Solan and Samuel, but I don't want to leave Eve here while she is sick..." she sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Gabrielle nodded, "I agree but we promised that we wouldn't separate anymore when it came to these missions. Do you think Eve will be fine by herself?"

Xena shook her head, "no I want her to be with someone. I want to stay with her but I need to go back to Athens to deal with Octavius," she sneered. She then started to think of her past and she didn't want Eve to have the same problem as she did. "I had the Nile fever once, a long time ago," she said quietly.

"You did?" Gabrielle closed the door more so Eve was not able to hear. "Is that what Eve has?"

The empress sighed, "I hope not. When I was pregnant with Solan, Borias and I traveled to Egypt but I was really sick and couldn't get out of bed for days." A small sad smile came to her lips, "he wouldn't leave my side." She shook her head getting out that little daze she was in. "And I don't want her to be alone."

"I can go back to Athens to help Solan and Samuel while you stay here with Eve," Gabrielle suggested. She said she'd never leave Xena again as they were partners but she was willing to break that promise.

Xena sighed, folding her arms not really liking the options she had right now. "If you go, I don't want anything to happen to you."

Gabrielle smirked, "I've done this several times with you. I'll be fine, like always."

Xena didn't like this idea, but she wanted to be in Athens and be in Luxor with Eve. She couldn't be in two places at once and she also didn't want to leave Eve all alone in this palace while she was ill. She reluctantly agreed to Gabrielle's idea about her leaving to Athens to help, but she said that she would catch up to her eventually and when Eve was well enough, she'd leave her here in the palace.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – _Desert Winds Part II_

With Gabrielle's absence and Xena staying with Eve, this palace in the middle of the desert was quite lonely and sometimes boring. So far Xena and Eve had been in Luxor for two days and Xena figured that Gabrielle would hopefully be in Athens by the next morning if she didn't run into any complications along the way. Xena knew that she could trust Gabrielle and at least Samuel and Solan were still in Athens, but what troubled her most was that she could not be there when it was most necessary. She wanted to stay with Eve to make sure she was alright, but at the same time she desperately needed to be in Athens making sure her city didn't cave in on itself.

Eve had been asleep for the past two days and hasn't really moved much. Xena was asleep in the chair beside the bed, growing tired of watching her daughter sleep only to wake her up sometimes to give her water and minimal food before she fell back into a deep slumber.

The maids were very nice and came in often to check on them both. Xena had been trying to think of a suitable plan to get out of Luxor without leaving Eve alone by herself. Her fever had somewhat gone down but not by much. She only hoped that she'd awaken and be alright, but for now, she stayed beside her, waiting...and waiting some more.

Eve's eyes fluttered open and attempted to sit up but her body was too weak to do so. She winced and saw her mother sleeping in the chair beside the bed. "Mother..." she croaked and Xena immediately woke up with a smile on her face. She came to sit on the edge of the bed next to Eve and touched her forehead, checking her temperature.

"Your fever has finally broken," Xena smiled relieved to see her daughter finally recovering slowly. She dabbed Eve's forehead with a damp cold cloth and Eve frowned, trying to sit up but Xena pushed her back down. "Don't get up, save your strength," she smiled and Eve sighed, feeling useless and helpless at the moment.

Eve's eyes wandered around the room and she frowned, "where is Gabrielle?" she asked. It was odd to see her mother anywhere without Gabrielle.

Xena's smile disappeared, "she's traveling to Athens to help your brother and Samuel."

Eve grabbed her mother's wrist and creased her eyebrows, "and you're not with her? Why didn't you go with her? Octavius and his Roman dogs are probably destroying the city!" she began coughing and Xena gave her some water.

"We both agreed that you shouldn't be left alone here. She volunteered to go while I stay here with you," the empress eyed Eve and she seemed more upset that Gabrielle was gone than concerned about her own illness.

Eve finished drinking the glass of water and let out a deep sigh. "That's very nice of you mother, but you should be in Athens, not in this...desert," she grumbled thinking about this wretched desert. She hated Egypt so much and the weather wasn't kind to her skin or her health at all.

Xena half grinned at her daughter's persistence. "As much as I want to be in Athens helping, I couldn't leave you here alone. Somehow...you contracted the Nile fever while in Greece," she saw her daughter's eyes widen. "Yes I know you were ill before we left and you should have told me."

The princess felt a bit embarrassed and lowered her eyes, "how...how do I get rid of it?"

"A lot of rest and water, that's the only way to get rid of the fever," she dabbed Eve's forehead again and Eve sighed, not really liking being confined to the bed. "I had the Nile fever once," she said and Eve lifted her eyes becoming curious. "I was pregnant with Solan. Borias and I were traveling to Egypt and I became so sick that I couldn't leave the ship. It took me a couple of weeks to get over it, but even with my stubbornness, Borias made sure I stayed in bed," she smiled.

Eve quirked her mouth to the side, "I wish Samuel were here right now," she admitted sadly. Not that she didn't mind her mother's company but she was worried about him being in Athens fighting against the odds.

Xena grinned, "I am sure he feels the same way as you." She sighed and put the cloth back into the water basin. Queen Hatima had left Athens a few weeks ago because she had some family matter to deal with in Karnak, Egypt. Xena immediately had an idea and Karnak was only a couple of hours from Luxor. She thought it might be a good idea to send a message to Hatima so she could come stay with Eve and she would be able to return to Athens without worry. "I'll be right back," she pat her daughter's knee and got up leaving the room before Eve could utter a word. The princess blinked, surprised at her mother's hasty exit.

* * *

Xena went to the falcon room and saw a young boy handling the birds. She smiled and wrote a message for the falcon to deliver to Karnak. She slipped it out of her tunic and presented it to the boy. "This is very important, make sure it gets to where it needs to be, alright?"

The boy smiled eagerly and slipped the message onto the falcon's talon. "I'll make sure it gets there, Xena," he opened the cage and let the bird fly off into the desert sky. She thanked him then left the room.

Mehmet, the nice Egyptian man she met with two days ago came running to her looking distressed. She frowned and he knelt down, bowing his head at her. She lifted him up by his shoulders and he looked frightened. "What's wrong?" she asked, almost afraid to know. She hoped it didn't have anything to do with her daughter.

He breathed heavily, "there is a visitor asking for you. He says that he knows you..." he bowed his head again.

Xena was not in the mood for this and how was this person able to find her? This place was supposed to be a secret from the public eye, but apparently not if someone already has found her. She honestly wished that it was a horde of Romans so she could take them out all at once.

Swiftly walking down the long corridor, her heels clicking on the marble tile, she walked out of the open entrance and saw a young man wearing a Nemes Headdress, those worn by the Pharaohs of Egypt. But there was one problem, all the Pharaohs were extinct especially after Cleopatra died. Her dynasty had collapsed and so did the dynasty of the Pharaohs –taking the ancient practice to her grave.

The young man turned around and met eyes with Xena as she stood at the top of the stairs. He was surrounded by royal guards, which Xena thought was odd. He smiled at her and she began walking down the steps, afraid to approach this man. He looked to be around Solan's age, maybe a bit younger but not by much.

Now Xena was a mere ten feet away from the man and he folded his arms. "Who are you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, very skeptical of this false Pharaoh.

He bowed his head, "My name is Ptolemy, you haven't met me before but my father has," he lifted his eyes with a mischievous grin.

Xena had met a lot of fathers in her life and killed many she was sure, but by the looks of this man, she didn't recognize him at all and certainly didn't remember killing any Egyptian Pharaohs. He took a step closer and she took a step back. He chuckled nervously and began, "I don't expect you to know who I am...how could you anyway?" he grinned and Xena eyed him carefully. "Perhaps my Roman name will ring a bell. I also go by Caesarion."

The Empress's eyes widened and she pulled her sword on him, "Caesarion?" she looked into his dark eyes and was now beginning to see the features. Roman name, huh? "You take the name of Julius Caesar..." she said lowly.

Ptolemy nodded, "correct! You see, my father hid me well from the public eye. After my mother died I decided to go into hiding so Octavius would not find me."

Suddenly everything was beginning to don on her, "you're Caesar's and Cleopatra's son?" her eyes grew, almost irate at the fact that those two even got together. She felt sick to her stomach now that she stood before the spawn of her most hated enemy. Caesar died long ago but apparently made his rounds in Egypt as well as other places. She indistinctly made a face of disgust and Ptolemy laughed.

"You seem shocked," he sighed, "well frankly, I'm shocked to find you in Egypt. Aren't you supposed to be in...Corinth or something?"

"Athens," she corrected.

"Right, Athens. Forgive me but I haven't been very well connected with the world outside this desolate desert." He took another step closer and pushed her blade out of the way. "No need for weapons, empress. I didn't come here to kill you."

Xena lowered her blade still wary of the young Pharaoh, "then why did you come here? Unless you have some information about the Romans, you are useless to me."

"I do have some information that might be valuable to you..." Ptolemy grinned deviously. "You're at war with Octavius, right?" she nodded in response. "I have some inside information about the emperor. If you invite me inside your fortress I'll be glad to tell you..."

Xena stared at him for awhile unsure what to do. She didn't even know that Caesar had a son and with...Cleopatra? she wasn't expecting that at all. It made sense that Caesar kept his son a secret because of Octavius becoming his successor. Ptolemy would be killed ultimately because of Octavius' lust for power. She gestured for him to come inside. She hoped she would not regret this later.

* * *

The following day Gabrielle docked in Athens, right outside of the palace walls. She stepped off the ship and saw the entire palace was underwater and sighed, thinking of Xena's devastation. It broke her heart to see Xena so upset and she rarely saw Xena cry about something unless it meant a lot to her and that palace was her world, everything she built and conquered came from inside that palace. Now it was gone and belonged to the sea.

She saw the rain storm had gone but it was still cloudy and rather gloomy. She wondered where Solan and Samuel were camping out during this catastrophe. They couldn't go back inside the palace and Xena ordered them to help the citizens. She would have thought that they'd be done with that by now. She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and tread down the hillside in search for those two.

Solan was on horseback and saw a hooded figure walking alone and then recognized those boots from anywhere. He smiled waving his hands at her. "Gabrielle!" he called out and she lifted her head with a bright smile, so happy to see that he was alive. He waved to her still and then realized that his mother was not with her and that troubled him the most. It was rare that they split up when it came to things like this. He was now becoming worried.

Gabrielle met with him and she grabbed his hand, so glad to see him. He hoisted her up onto the horse and she wrapped her arm around him. "Where is mother?" he asked, concerned.

She pursed her lips, "she is with Eve in Luxor still. She was very sick. Xena and I agreed that she'd stay with her and I come to help you and Samuel."

The blonde prince groaned, "is she doing better at least? I mean Eve..." he trotted away from the palace grounds to go to the little hideout that Samuel and him were able to make in the woods.

"Xena is taking good care of her, I'm sure," Gabrielle smile reassuring Solan.

They arrived in the middle of the dark woods and Gabrielle saw a group of yurts in the surrounding area. She hopped off the horse taking the hood off her head. She raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get these yurts?" she walked around and saw a small campfire that had been extinguished not long ago.

"Some Athenians were kind enough to give them to us when we were evacuating the city. Mother's men are escorting the citizens to Delphi. They left a few days ago, they should be there soon."

Gabrielle turned to Solan with a frown, "Delphi is pretty far from Athens, don't you think?"

He shrugged sheepishly, "Delphi is the next largest city and we didn't want smaller neighboring cities becoming overcrowded." Gabrielle nodded in agreement with Solan, though that was quite a journey for those displaced Athenians. She knew that they were working against all odds –weather, destroyed homes and the Romans. They had to take all precautions as possible.

Samuel came out of the yurt and smiled, thrilled to see Gabrielle had made it back from Egypt. He ran and hugged her tightly. Gabrielle was a bit caught off guard by the king's warmth towards her. "Gabrielle! How is Eve and what about Xena? She didn't come with you?" he frowned.

She shook her head, "Xena is with Eve in Luxor. She's very ill right now," she eyed him cautiously and saw some disappointment in his green eyes. "Don't worry, Xena will take good care of her," she smiled reassuring the Persian as best as she could. Solan meanwhile was in the background grimacing at the king as he spoke to Gabrielle.

"And...the babies? They're okay, right?" he expressed imminent concern and Gabrielle smirked, patting his shoulder gently.

"I don't think Xena would let anything happen to them. She'd probably die first," she winked and saw Samuel break out into a smile, hoping for the best.

She sighed and took a good look around this small campsite they made for themselves. "Well, has Octavius come back?"

Solan eyed Samuel and they shared a worried stare. Gabrielle raised an eyebrow then folded her arms, anxious to hear this story. Solan began, "Samuel kind of threatened Octavius but that was a few days ago. We haven't seen him show his face back here since."

Samuel frowned, "I only threatened him because he committing illegal acts of war against Xena and Greece. He didn't belong here so I told him to get lost," he folded his arms and Solan rolled his eyes.

Gabrielle put her hands up, "enough!" she said firmly and both men stopped speaking. "If Octavius is playing dirty then expect him to come back and with friends. Our army is spread out right now which is not very good, but at least we have more men than him."

"He's never done this before, right?" Samuel asked aloud.

Solan shook his head, "no he hasn't. I am surprised he's acting like this. He must be desperate to get rid of my mother." He sighed and grabbed his bow and arrows, strapping it to his back. "I'm going to go search the area for any intruders."

"Samuel and I should stay here if they decide to come back in the area," Gabrielle offered and Solan was fine with that. He gathered up a few Persian archers and left the area to the outskirts of the woods to higher ground. She turned to the Persian king and he looked a bit disheveled and stressed. He sat down on the ground trying to start a new fire. She sat opposite him and placed a hand on his shoulder as he was rubbing twigs and rocks together. "Eve will be fine."

He nodded, "I hope so. I knew she was sick but I didn't think it was serious." Growing frustrated he threw the rocks and twigs down on the ground. Gabrielle smiled and decided to start the fire for him. He ran his fingers through his wavy dark hair and cursed silently to himself.

She blew against the faint embers and soon a small fire emerged. She stared at the king and smirked, thinking it so odd that someone so kind and gentle could come from Phraates. "You really are nothing like your father, you know."

Lifting his head he smiled weakly at her. "My mother would love to hear you say that."

"Your mother is a very nice woman," Gabrielle said and blew against the small flames.

He nodded, "yes she is. I miss her," he sighed then thought of his older half brother. "I don't know why she visits my brother and his wife, he isn't even her son."

"You agreed that she is a nice woman. Maybe she thinks of your brother as her son too. You don't have to be related by blood to be a mother to someone," she smiled and Samuel caught on and he agreed with her, sitting in silence.

In the middle of their nice serene conversation a gust of wind came and the fire went out. Gabrielle frowned looking at the fire she had just lit now was destroyed. An arrow landed a foot away from her thigh and she gasped, standing up immediately. Samuel grabbed his bow and grabbed Gabrielle, pushing her in the yurt. "Wait here, Gabrielle," he suggested but she pushed him out of the way. He grimaced at her defiance.

"I'm not going to sit around and do nothing." She grinned sneakily and grabbed a bow and a set of arrows sitting by the yurt. Together they walked around, hiding behind tree trunks and Samuel saw another arrow fly by his ear and he let out a sigh of relief. Gabrielle knelt down and crawled on her knees to a tree closer to the outskirts of the woods.

"Gabrielle, what are you doing?!" he hissed. She ignored him and peered from behind the tree and saw many Romans lined up fully decked in armor and archers in the back row. The amount was a lot but it definitely outnumbered them in this small area. Pulling the bow's string tautly she aimed at one of the Romans and said a silent prayer to herself that she wouldn't miss.

She thought of Xena.  _"I never miss, Gabrielle."_  She clenched her teeth and pulled the arrow back tightly, close to her cheek.  _"If you think too much about your target, you will have poor aim."_  She smiled as she heard Xena's voice speaking to her within her head.  _"Don't think at all. Just do it."_  she released the arrow and saw it pierce one Roman in the throat.

The Roman soldier cried out and fell to the ground. Gabrielle then saw the archers begin to panic and then they drew their bows and her eyes widened. "Time to leave!" she turned to retreat and Samuel saw a slew of arrows coming right at them. He ran behind Gabrielle, dodging the arrows barely missing his boots. They ducked down low and went deeper into the woods. "Where in Hades is Solan?" she griped and came to hide behind a tree and Samuel collapsed behind the tree beside her.

He shrugged, "who knows but hopefully he's doing better than we are," he grinned between baited breath. He saw an arrow land in between his fingers and he gasped. Looking behind them he saw Romans were now in the woods with them. He closed his eyes and lifted his palms to the sky, silently praying to himself.

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, "are you seriously praying at a time like this?" she peered behind her and saw the Romans coming their way. She rolled her eyes and saw Samuel still praying. "By the gods..." she muttered.

"There's always time for prayer, Gabrielle," he smiled and stood up pulling an arrow back and shot three at once, piercing through three Romans' chests. He extended his hand to her with a sly grin, "come on, we gotta find Solan." Gabrielle sighed and grabbed his hand and the two ran off out of sight from the Romans behind them.

* * *

Xena sat staring at Caesarion, tapping her fingers on her knee impatiently. She hadn't really said a word to him since he arrived. The two just stared at one another and he had been in her palace for about twenty four hours and the two barely spoke except when they first met outside yesterday. Xena made sure that Eve was taken care of while she dealt with this nuisance.

"So, are we going to talk or just stare at each other?" he asked awkwardly making the tension worse he feared.

"I just can't seem to understand why Caesar had sex with Cleopatra. I can't wrap it around my head," she stared into the man's eyes and saw much of his mother in him, more than Caesar. Which she didn't know if that she was a good thing or not. Cleopatra was a snake as well, a lustful snake.

He shrugged his shoulders, "wish I had an answer for you," he leaned forward in the chair, "listen empress, I know a lot about you. You hated my father and even tried to kill him, but failed. Not long after you took the throne of Greece I was born and was kept a secret." He saw some hesitation in her eyes. "If Octavius found out about me he would definitely kill me."

Xena smiled, finding that information rather useful to her. "I am planning to return to Athens soon," she looked at the morning sun and hoped that Hatima would come to her rescue and stay with Eve. She understood that she had family matters to take care of, but it would help her a lot if she came to look after Eve in her place. She leaned forward with a smug smile, "why don't you come with me?"

Ptolemy's eyes widened, "I won't go to Athens. Octavius will find me. You two are in the middle of a war."

She sighed loudly, "well I think it would benefit us both if you came to Athens with  _me_. You said you have information about Octavius and I think since you found me here...I should show my gratitude and take you with me to Athens." Her eyelids lowered, "what do you say?"

"If I go with you to Athens I want something in return from you," he said and Xena raised her eyebrows. " _If_  you kill Octavius I want control of Egypt."

Xena laughed, "as if I would give Egypt to a child like you!"

He frowned, "I am not a child! Egypt belongs to me as much as it belonged to my mother. It's not yours!"

The empress's laughter died down and she stared at the serious face of the Pharaoh, "if I gave Egypt to you then I will have another spoiled Roman king to deal with and I won't allow that to happen."

He then smiled seeing the arrogance in the empress. "What if I help you defeat Octavius? I know his military strategies very well."

She shook her head, "I've been in many wars since before you were even thought of, Caesarion. I don't need help from you. I know how to fight Octavius." She grinned deviously.

Ptolemy was growing tired of this woman. He stood up and signaled to his royal guards. "Fine. I will come back later this evening with some vital news then we'll see who needs help," he brushed passed her and Xena turned around as he left. He marched down the halls, eager to leave so he could cool off for a bit.

He exited the large palace and saw a caravan had just arrived. He recognized the design and saw a woman with light eyes and fair skin. He raised an eyebrow and went to his horse to go back to his palace in the Upper Nile until this evening. He promised to give Xena what she wanted. She wanted news, well she's going to get some news alright.

Hatima exited the caravan and saw Ptolemy leave with his entourage. She frowned thinking that was rather strange that Xena had guests over. She had a three year old girl in her arms and saw Xena at the top of the stairs looking a bit irritated.

Xena smiled once she saw the Persian queen. She was glad that she came. Hatima walked up the stairs and Xena saw her carrying a child in her arms. "I see you got my message."

She nodded, "I did. I hope Eve is alright," she frowned sadly, thinking the worst, mirroring her son's thoughts even from hundreds of miles away. Together they walked inside and the child in her arms looked around at the high ceilings and statues of many Egyptian gods, instantly intrigued.

"who is this?" Xena smiled looking at the toddler's big brown eyes. The child hid her face from Xena, burying her face into Hatima's blouse.

Hatima grinned, running her fingers through the girl's wavy hair. "My step son's daughter, Halime. Her mother asked me to watch her while she and her husband went back to Persia to visit their older daughters." Xena nodded and they came to Eve's room and slowly opened the door.

Eve saw Queen Hatun step inside and she sat up, smiling, surprised that she was here. "Hatima...what are you doing here?"

"Your mother asked me to come watch over you while she returns to Athens," Hatima sat in the chair next to the bed and placed Halime on her lap. The toddler stared at Eve with wide eyes and Eve smiled down at her.

The princess looked to her mother, "so you're going to Athens to help them?" she asked, hoping it was true. Xena nodded and that actually relieved some of Eve's stress. "When are you leaving?"

Xena sighed, "I wanted to leave as soon as Hatima arrived but it looks like I am delayed."

Eve frowned, not sure what she meant by that. "What do you mean 'delayed'?"

"It's nothing to worry about. I have some business to attend to, I will be back by nightfall," Xena smiled and left the room to Hatima and Eve.

The princess smiled at the small child on Hatima's lap. She took the covers off as she was feeling rather hot again and during the day it was super hot unlike the evenings, which she enjoyed more. "And who is this?" she grinned, scooting forward to see the small child. Halime grinned up at her and then her eyes wandered around and looked down at Eve's midsection.

Halime pointed at Eve's stomach and Eve looked down at herself, confused. Hatima caught on and she smiled grabbing Halime's small hand. "She has a baby like mommy," she grinned and Eve blinked, not quite expecting that to come out of that child's mouth.

Hatima smiled, "that's right but Eve has two babies," she held up two fingers and Halime's eyes widened, finally catching on. Eve stifled a laugh at the little girl's expression. "I'm sorry, her mother is pregnant as well. I promised my step son that I'd watch her while they are away."

Eve smiled, "that's alright. I wish I could hold her," she sighed, almost forgetting that she was still ill. "I hope you coming here wasn't too much trouble. My mother can be very demanding sometimes..."

The queen shook her head and set Halime on the ground so she could wander around, but still be in her sight. "She asked for my help and I will always be here to help you and my son. Besides, those are my grandchildren as much as they are Xena's," she smiled and Eve grinned nervously. She was beginning to think that her mother and Samuel's mother weren't going to leave her alone. Both of them were always asking how she was and fussing over her every change they got. Eve hoped that their over protective motherly behavior would disappear once the twins arrived.

"It's really nice of you to come stay with me. My mother needs to go back to Athens," Eve said and watched Halime start rummaging through a chest of some sort. "She is very curious..." she noted.

* * *

Xena paced around outside the entrance of the palace contemplating what she was doing. Ptolemy was very persistent and he was acting like a spoiled king, as he rightfully is. His parents hid him well just as she hid Eve for so long until she was unable to hide her as she grew older and ventured out by herself. Eve was still unseen by most and Octavius had yet to lay eyes on her daughter, which she knew that was a good thing. If this war was going to be a prolonged problem Xena wanted Eve to stay in Egypt for as long as possible until this war was over and done with. She didn't want her in the way and considering they had no home to go to in Athens, it was best that she stay far away, very far away.

Now that Xena was more focused and had help from more people than just herself and Gabrielle and the fact that this time she will actually participate in the war effort with Octavius. The first time they fought she was pregnant with Eve and could not put forth a good effort in the fight like she wanted. Gabrielle did most of the work and she did a fine job, but this time Xena was well prepared in her mind and she was going to get rid of the Roman Emperor for good this time. He lived the first time only because Xena did not want to deal with his council if she murdered him. It was a death sentence but Xena no longer cared if she got in trouble and how could she now? If he was gotten rid of then Xena would have control over the Roman Empire and the Greek Empire. She would be in control over so many lands. Thinking of that victory she grinned.

Her preemptive victory was interrupted when she saw Ptolemy arrive just as the sun was setting. She frowned looking at the young boy king. He was probably a bit younger than Solan, in his thirties but he was still young in her eyes. She was old enough to be his mother and just the thought of his parents being who they were was making her nauseous. She didn't care for Cleopatra and definitely hated Caesar, although he wasn't as vindictive as his successor was.

He hopped of his horse and grinned at her. "So are you willing to listen to me now, empress?"

Xena smiled tightly, "of course." He began walking up the stairs and she held up her hand, "but you don't need to come inside. We will make this short and sweet."

He nodded curtly at her and stepped down, folding his arms looking up at the empress. "Octavius' military strategies are the norm for a Roman. I have been watching him through someone else's eyes." He grinned and saw intrigue spark in Xena's eyes. "I have a spy working in the Roman fortress in Rome. He has told me that he plans to destroy Greece from the inside out."

Xena chuckled, "he has already done this. Tell me something I don't know," she frowned, creasing her eyebrows now becoming impatient with this boy king.

Ptolemy sighed, "you might already know but he has most of his army in Anatolia still. They did not retreat back to Rome as you might suspect. He will attack your precious empire by ship, something he does not normally do but with the nomadic Turkmen on his side, his navy will obliterate yours."

As soon as he said that Xena's blood began to boil. Gabrielle had suggested that they take the navy out because Octavius never attacked at sea but now that she had this information, she only hoped that his navy would not come for her city and surrounding cities. She also did not fully trust Ptolemy, he was after all a Roman by blood. She laced her fingers together staring at him blankly.

"And how can I trust what you say is true, Caesarion?" she asked the most obvious question.

He chuckled, "I would not lie about this, empress. Octavius is my enemy and I wish to see him perish just as much as you do. I want him destroyed!" he growled and Xena smirked at this enthusiasm.

"If what you say is true then...I definitely think you should come to Athens with me," her eyes narrowed and saw fear strike in his eyes. "It will prove to me that you are not lying to me. I don't like liars, you know," she winked making him more nervous. "You know what I do to those that lie to me?"

Ptolemy grinned anxiously, "yes empress I'm aware. Stories of your wrath have reached Egypt," he grinned deviously and saw Xena's face change from an eerie smile to a menacing frown. "And what about what I said earlier? Will you give Egypt to me once the Emperor is defeated?"

Xena clicked her tongue. "I'll think about it," which was a nice way of saying no but he didn't have to know about it. "I wish to leave tonight. Meet me in Alexandria if you're  _man_   _enough_  to join me," she smirked and disappeared back into the palace.

The Pharaoh let out a sigh of relief now able to breathe since she was gone. One of his men came up to him with a worrisome expression. "sir, are you really going to travel with that witch to Athens?"

He grinned, "if she is willing to think over my proposition of giving Egypt to me then I will gladly accompany her to Athens."

* * *

Xena came back into the room where Eve and Hatima were. She closed the door and began gathering up her things that she brought from her ship. Eve sat up and smiled weakly. "Are you leaving for Athens?"

Xena smiled, "yes," she slung the bag over her shoulder and went to Eve's side and kissed her forehead. "You will be safe here with Hatima," she grinned towards the Persian queen and Hatima returned a small smile.

Just as she turned to leave Eve called out to her, "will you tell everyone that I wish them the best of luck?"

The empress nodded, "of course," she knew her daughter was mostly speaking of Samuel, concerned for his well being. "I will come back for you once I finish with Octavius." She smiled and left the room immediately going to her horse so she could make the long trek to Alexandria. She had to get there before sunrise so she could sail to Athens. She was beginning to worry for Gabrielle and the others all by themselves.

Gabrielle and Samuel were now hiding in an alcove from the Romans. They had met up with Solan briefly and he was doing quite well keeping the archers at bay. Most of them were defeated but by now Gabrielle and Samuel were running out of arrows and weren't exactly in the best of armor to defeat the Romans.

"This is quite exciting," Samuel said as he tore off a piece of his tunic and wrapped his wrist. He had hurt his wrist while running from the Romans and tripped over a tree root, tumbling down a hill. Gabrielle sighed, thinking she was getting too old for this. She was beginning to feel like Xena.

"We can't just keep running like this. They always catch up," Gabrielle looked behind her and didn't see any Romans coming their way which was good thing. "They haven't come this far. Hopefully Solan and your men were able to hold them off."

Samuel stood up, "we need to go back and help them Gabrielle. Xena wouldn't hide," he winked and started running off. Gabrielle's mouth gaped and she got up, groaning, and ran behind him. She was growing tired of running around.

They were able to make it back to the campsite in the entrance of the woods and saw Solan with about twenty Persian soldiers lined up in a row hiding behind the trees. The Roman archers were down below still shooting arrows at them. Gabrielle ducked down as an arrow flew by her head. She crawled on the ground and clung onto Solan's arm.

"Hey Gabrielle, how you doing?" Solan grinned and began filling up bottles with alcohol. Gabrielle eyed him cautiously and he would hand the corked bottles to the Persians down the line.

"What are you doing?" Gabrielle asked, quite curious.

"Making bombs!" he chuckled playfully and Gabrielle's eyes widened. He finished corking one of the small bottles and dipped his arrowhead into the small fire they made and Gabrielle shook her head, thinking this was an awful idea. He threw the bottle down below and drew his arrow aiming for the bottle.

As soon as the fiery arrowhead hit the bottle it exploded and four Roman soldiers were immolated and crying in agony, running around trying to put out the fire on their bodies. Solan smiled then turned to a very shocked Gabrielle staring at him in disbelief. "What? I learn from the best," he winked at her.

"Solan you are a genius," Gabrielle smiled finally. She had used a similar tactic in the first war with Octavius although she didn't use alcohol, it was a good substitute for what they had at the moment. Solan began pouring more alcohol into another bottle and she put her hand over his. "May I?" she smiled smugly and he raised an eyebrow at her.

She grabbed the bottle and corked it, then began making more as Solan watched her. She threw at least four bottles down at the Romans and Solan blinked, not sure why she did that. Gabrielle dipped one of her last arrows in the fire and stood up, aiming at the spilled alcohol on the ground near the Romans. She shot at the ground and a wall of fire surrounding the soldiers. She saw them instantly panic and begin to run away from the spreading fire.

"Alright, Gabrielle!" Solan cheered her on and Samuel smiled kneeling down close to him.

"Impressive. You must teach me your skills," Samuel said and Gabrielle grinned.

She sighed now seeing most of the Romans retreating. She was on the lookout for Octavius but so far he was hiding which only made him seem cowardly. She wondered how long it would take Xena to come back to Athens and also, they couldn't stay in the woods like this either. They would need to move since Octavius knew exactly where they were. Gabrielle began to think of another place they could go and wondered if Xena had any secret hideouts. If Xena had any secret places she definitely didn't tell her and she was still a little sour about Luxor, but she would have to put all that behind her now.

* * *

Hours later the sun began to set and the Romans had gone realizing that their effort wasn't the best in defeating them. Octavius was probably furious but Gabrielle couldn't care less about his feelings and anguish. Their home was destroyed while Octavius' fortress still stood.

She poked the fire with a stick and Samuel sat next to Solan eating some bread and soup. Gabrielle wasn't too hungry and set her food aside trying to come up with a good plan.

Solan noticed Gabrielle's silence. "What's on your mind, Gabrielle?"

She glanced upward and sighed, "we need to move to a different spot. We can't stay here or we will be killed. Xena's army is scattered across Greece which puts us at a disadvantage."

He could agree with that. "But where will we go? We can't go back to the palace obviously."

"If Xena were here she would know what to do," Gabrielle groaned and threw the stick into the fire. She stood up and began pacing back and forth. Samuel and Solan looked to her as they finished off their food in silence.

"Well she's not here so we have to work together," Samuel spoke up. "Xena's army should return from Delphi soon and when they arrive we can come up with a plan."

Gabrielle nodded, liking the sound of that. She was beginning to worry less now about their safety and more about the plan. She didn't need Xena here because Xena was with her wherever she went. Instantly she had an idea but it would take while to bring everyone together. For now, since both Eve and Xena were not here she was to step in Xena's place of authority, according to the law as Eve spoke of earlier, using it against her.

"I have a place that we could go to..." Gabrielle smiled sitting down, thinking it over. "It will be a long journey but the Romans are not used to this territory." They both stared at her awaiting for her brilliant idea. "We should travel to the Balkan Mountains in Thrace, Xena's homeland."

Solan frowned, "why the mountains?"

"Because it will be difficult for Octavius and his men to maneuver around the terrain."

"It will be winter in a couple of months, the weather in those mountains is unbearable," Solan shuddered just thinking about it. All that snow, so much snow. If this war was going to continue like it was, it might go into the winter season which he hoped it wouldn't.

Samuel raised his hand to speak, "how will Xena find us if we leave before she gets here?"

Gabrielle smiled, "I will leave clues for her. She will find us. She  _is_  Xena."

**AN: and so it begins, for real this time lol.**


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: I've broken up this battle into five parts. Each title important to the chapter. Enjoy and thank you for reading :)**

Chapter 28 – _Part I of V: Empire of Blood and Power_

Gabrielle, Solan and Samuel were able to gather up the remaining army scattered across Delphi and Athens so they began their journey to the Balkan Mountains in Thrace. An entire army of one hundred thousand men following behind the three in front leading the way. Gabrielle lead the way remembering a few shortcuts, though it was difficult terrain it was pertinent that they reach this area. Gabrielle knew that Octavius would catch on eventually and follow them. He was obviously looking for a fight but Gabrielle wanted the fight to be difficult for the emperor only because he destroyed Athens and Xena's and her home. That palace in the highlands of Athens was demolished and probably couldn't be saved unless they tore the entire building down and started anew. Gabrielle didn't wish to see such devastation in Xena's eyes again and was going to make sure that it wouldn't happen again.

Xena had built that palace so long ago and it was more than a home to her, it was her legacy and now it was gone. Octavius may have seen it as just a large building that housed political discourse but it was a home, a school, a library, a political outpost, a training facility and more. Gabrielle began to think that a place couldn't be a home, but a person can be a home too. Xena was her home and she was going to make sure that Octavius would come crashing down just like he should have twenty two years ago.

Xena arrived in Athens though a bit delayed she stepped off the ship and onto the hillside of her city. She took a good look at her palace and sighed inwardly, thinking that her life had definitely come tumbling down right before her. She walked down the hill and saw Athens was deserted and Gabrielle, Solan and Samuel were nowhere to be found. A bit of distance away she saw three of her men waiting for her on their horses and she smiled, thinking that Gabrielle had a plan and must be good, but she also was on the lookout for the Roman Emperor. She thought he wouldn't dare show his face here again after what he did. After all, there was nothing left here for him.

She snapped her fingers and some Egyptian men she brought with her pushed Ptolemy down the hill to follow her. She didn't trust Ptolemy at all, considering his bloodline. He was no king to her, he was just an annoying man child that she wanted to lug around for her own amusement. Though she hadn't hurt him, she did tie him up in chains and got rid of his so called royal guard leaving them in Alexandria. She didn't trust them and wanted Ptolemy all to herself. Essentially she was using the Egypto-Roman as bait for Octavius. She couldn't wait to see his face when she presented the spawn of Julius Caesar himself to the emperor.

Meeting up with the soldiers they smiled, finally seeing her arrive, though it was delayed. She couldn't exactly send a message saying she was coming because at the time she had no idea how long she'd be in Luxor for. Leaving Eve with Hatima was the best possible solution to keep her safe. She smiled at them, "I guess you have a message for me?" she inquired.

One of her men nodded, "indeed empress. Gabrielle and the others are traveling to Thrace. They left two days ago to the Balkan Mountains."

Xena's eyes widened quite shocked to hear something like this. Why would they go to the mountains? The weather is treacherous there but then she cracked a small mischievous grin. She thought Gabrielle was a genius. The Romans would have to follow them to the mountains thus making it so difficult to fight one another, also it gave a lot of coverage in the warzone, giving them the advantage.

"And Gabrielle wants me to follow them there?" Xena asked and the men nodded in unison. She grinned, "clever girl," she sighed turning to see Ptolemy glaring at her. "I caught a fish in the desert. He'll be coming with us," she huffed and grabbed one of the men's horses, mounting it and began riding off. Ptolemy was man handled by Xena's men and they threw him on a horse and rode behind Xena.

If Xena was lucky enough she would be at least three days behind Gabrielle and crew, but she would make it eventually.

* * *

Gabrielle saw the mountains not far from where they stood now and she halted her horse. It was early in the morning and hopefully by nightfall they would reach the mountains. They had made two stops so far, but she wanted to keep rest stops to a minimum because she feared that Octavius and his Romans would catch up to them. She was constantly on the lookout for them but so far, they were not being followed just yet. She knew it was coming though and it might not happen tonight or tomorrow but it would happen eventually. Octavius was out for blood and he was going to do everything in his power to overthrow Xena and be rid of her for good this time. He will fail, she thought.

Solan rode up next to Gabrielle and yawned. "We are almost there," he smiled and Gabrielle nodded.

"Yes. We need to keep riding to make sure we get there by nightfall. We are making excellent time," Gabrielle smiled and continued riding at a steady pace. The entire army walked behind them, some on horses, though most didn't have horses due to the flooding in Athens. They were growing tired of walking all that way to Thrace, but it had to be done. Gabrielle wasn't going to stop anymore since they were so close.

Samuel rode alongside Solan and he squinted looking at the snowy tipped mountains. "It reminds me of Persia," he said aloud and the blonde prince smiled, nodding his head. "I miss my home. Don't get me wrong Greece is wonderful but it's not my home," he sighed.

Solan smirked, "a home doesn't have to be a place, Samuel. Eve is your home now." He pat the Persian's shoulder gently.

Gabrielle heard what Solan said and she slipped a small smile. It was exactly what she thought about Xena. Xena was her home, not Greece or Athens or the grand palace.

As the sun began to set Gabrielle and company finally reached the Balkan Mountains and now it was a lush green, but soon in a couple of months this terrain would be covered in snow and ice. It was the perfect place to deter Octavius. The army finally stopped and looked around at the terrain, quite in awe of the place. It was a beautiful sight to behold and there were even waterfalls not too far from where they stood. The air was crisper up in the mountains and autumn was a bit colder in Thrace than it was in sunny Athens.

"We need to find a place to set up our camp," Gabrielle frowned and looked around at the area. There wasn't much flat land unless they went in the trench of the mountains, though even then it was very rocky and hilly.

Samuel nudged Solan in the arm, "we will go scout for an area, Gabrielle," he suggested. She nodded and together the two men trotted off slowly down the sloped hill to find a suitable place to set up camp.

* * *

Xena now slowed to a steady pace giving the horse a rest on the long journey. So far she had been traveling for a day and didn't think to stop unless it was absolutely necessary. She looked behind her and saw Ptolemy sleeping on the horse, his head lolling side to side. Smirking she kept her eyes peeled for any Romans following. She hoped that Gabrielle did not run into them or anything out of the ordinary.

One of her men approached her on foot and cleared his throat getting her attention. She peered down at him and he smiled up at her. He was carrying a large bag with him, mostly filled with water and food for the journey. "Gabrielle asked me to retrieve something from the palace."

Xena frowned, "you went in the palace?"

He pulled out something from his bag and Xena broke out into a grand smile. He lifted the large silver helmet with the black fan shaped plume feathers. Her eyes showed excitement and she grabbed the helmet. There was at least one thing she had from her home and it was the most important thing. "Gabrielle gave me specific instructions to give it to you. She said that it would mean a lot to you," he bowed his head placing his hand over his heart.

Xena smiled and placed the helmet on her head, finally feeling like she hadn't truly lost everything. Gabrielle was right, a palace was just a building, but at least her family was safe and that was more important than a palace. "I'll have to  _thank_  her when we arrive in Thrace," she smirked.

Mid afternoon Xena decided to stop and get water from a nearby stream to replenish their wineskins as well as the horses. Ptolemy was next to the stream drinking water from his hands as a soldier watched over him carefully. Xena smiled and corked the wineskin placing it back on the horse, she walked over to him.

The Pharaoh lifted his head and saw Xena staring down at him through her veil of dark hair. He frowned, "you're keeping me as a hostage..."

"That's right. I don't trust you though I don't think you could do any damage to me even if you tried," she chuckled lowly and began walking away to grab an apple from the bag.

He stood up and wiped his mouth with the backside of his hand. "You act as if you're a god Xena."

She peeled the apple with her dagger and turned slowly to look into his dark eyes. "Now that's just silly," she smirked and ate a slice of the fruit. She cut a piece off and walked over to him teasing him with the fruit. He snubbed her and she smiled. "Don't like apples, Caesarion?" she teased.

"I don't take fruit from snakes," he spat and Xena shrugged her shoulder, walking away. "If my father were alive he would obliterate you."

Xena laughed, "obliterate  _me_? His own people betrayed him! Don't make me choke, Caesarion." She spit out some skin of the apple and stared at the irate king. "When I assumed the throne of Greece your father was already on his way out. His empire was failing and he was losing trust in his people. In a way he sort of killed himself," she grinned and Ptolemy snarled. "Come now, Caesarion, don't be a spoilt sport," she winked and that only infuriated him more.

He was surprised that she was so arrogant towards him. He had always heard stories about Xena and her cryptic ways. She liked to dance around words that confused her enemies and it was a good tactic if the person was weak minded. Though it was hard to resist a beauty like Xena. He was expecting her to look old and worn out but it was just the opposite. She still looked as youthful as ever and he had never laid eyes on her before but given the time of his father's death, she should be in her fifties by now. He was surprised by her appearance to say the least, which also made him believe that she was a mortal god-like figure. Only kings and queens of Egypt could assume the title of god or goddess, but it seemed that Xena had broken that ancient rule.

He stared at her as she finished eating the apple and she cleaned her dagger in the stream. He had wondered this all his life and he had a right to know. "How did you gain power so quickly?" Xena lifted her head and wiped the dagger on her pants before sheathing it in her boot. She looked confused. "I mean," he continued, "how did you rise to take the throne of Greece so fast? After Caesar destroyed your army you were left with nothing. It seems impossible..."

She sneered, "do they teach this in history classes now?" she scoffed. He looked to be serious and wanted an answer. She mounted her horse and the soldiers forced Ptolemy to mount the horse behind her. "It is not impossible because I did it," she said seriously and began trotting off. "If you really want to know," she peered behind her and he looked a bit intrigued. "I made people submit to me or die. I gained status as a warlord after Caesar destroyed my army. I created a new army after I left Rome and we pillaged villages and I claimed them as my own. I went to every city in Greece, taking Roman territories for myself."

He frowned thinking of Xena's past. It was definitely rich. "So that is why the Roman Empire hated you so much..." he stated.

She nodded, "yes. I had many assassination attempts back then. Don't get too many of those anymore," she smirked. "Do not be fooled, Caesarion. The Greek people hated me for years but I was able to redeem myself to them."

He chuckled and she snapped her head around to see a smile on his face. "I'm sorry, I just find it hard to believe that someone like you could change for the better," his laughter dissipated.

"Believe what you want, Caesarion but your father was not liked by his people until his death," she said coldly and Ptolemy didn't like to hear that. She thought that might insight him.

They rode in silence for a few minutes until he spoke up again, interrupting the lovely silence. "What do you plan to do with me once we reach Thrace?" he didn't exactly trust the empress considering her past, though she wasn't a witch like many believed her to be. Perhaps she was different and she had changed. If she really was the Xena he had heard stories of growing up, she would have killed him in Egypt but she didn't.

"Let me worry about that, Caesarion," she smiled and trotted along, picking up the pace a bit.

* * *

Solan and Samuel were able to find a place to set up their camp and it would be a large camp. One hundred thousand men definitely was not a small army. Solan came to Gabrielle and offered some bread to her. She smiled taking the bread and he sat opposite her. "Gabrielle, we don't have any tents or yurts for our men," he sighed and she agreed that this was a problem. "We also do not have any supplies or extra weaponry except for the swords we have on our backs."

She knew this was definitely a problem. "I know I was thinking about that earlier today. Even when Xena arrives she will not bring a slew of weapons to us since most likely she is traveling alone."

He nodded. "Yes that's true. We are going to need help and we don't know when she will come here anyway."

Gabrielle smiled, "I'm sure it won't be long. She's Xena and always has a plan for everything."

He grinned thinking of his mother. Gabrielle was right, Xena always had a plan even in the middle of chaos and he didn't doubt her skills, though he worried for the army and lack of supplies. They were wedged in between these mountains with no real escape route either. If Octavius came in it would be difficult for him to find them but nevertheless, he would find them and try his best to annihilate them.

* * *

Octavius gathered up his entire army and rode through the low plains of Greece. He saw horse tracks and footprints leading the way. He frowned looking down at the tracks and it appeared that Xena's army was on the move.

He clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers to his scribe. "Tell Tiberius to reroute and not to attack by sea anymore..." he smiled seeing the tracks going north. He had no idea what they had planned nor had any idea what they were doing. "Oh Xena, what are you up to?" he looked around at his men and they were awaiting his command to ride further. "She seems to disappear and reappear like a Jinn," he smirked and kicked his horse trotting along the tracks eager to see where they would take him.

Xena was riding on the low plains of the desert part of Greece. She knew that it would not be long now, just a couple more days until they reached the desired destination. She heard something in the background and halted her horse. Her men looked around and she frowned as her hearing heightened greatly. "Horses," she hissed and rode up to a hill and her eyes widened. She saw the Roman army riding towards the Balkan Mountains following Gabrielle's tracks. She didn't think that Gabrielle was stupid enough to leave their position wide open like that. "She wants him to find her..." she whispered, thinking that interesting yet dangerous as well. A mysterious smile graced her lips thinking how clever Gabrielle really was. She didn't give her enough credit, she told herself.

Ptolemy looked behind Xena and saw Octavius leading his men and his mouth gaped. Xena turned to see the shocked king and she stifled a laugh. "Could've been your position." She said and he frowned at her.

"You're not going to do anything about him following us?" he cried out.

Xena shook her head, "do I look stupid to you?" she chuckled. "My army is waiting for me. I want this to be a fair fight..." she stared at the fearful boy king and smirked. "Don't be scared of Octavius. He is the lion and I am the mouse. He acts so tough but he refuses to come face to face with me and instead he destroys the things most precious to me," her eyes darkened thinking of what he had done to her beloved palace.

"I am surprised he hasn't attacked your daughter," he said and Xena's head snapped around her eyes widening, shocked and infuriated all at once. He turned his head and saw a menacing glare coming from her. He feared her just now, it was like the stories he had heard of her when he was a child.

"How do you know about my daughter?" she came closer to him on her horse and had her hand on the hilt of her sword.

Ptolemy eyed where her hand was and instantly his heart beat quickened. "I have spies everywhere. I –I don't know anything about her, I swear," he blinked and saw her hand slip from the hilt and he exhaled softly, relieved.

She stared him down for a few silent moments and frowned, turning her horse around to north. "Let's go." Keeping Eve a secret from the outside world was most important to her thought she knew the older she got she couldn't keep her locked away for long. Her appearance was unknown to Octavius, which she was thankful for that, but yet she was known through the grape vine and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Now, she thought it was best to keep Eve hidden away from prying eyes, especially now.

Xena did not stop through the night and even took a shortcut to get to the mountains. She wanted to arrive there before Octavius and with no army behind her she knew that would quicken her pace and slow Octavius down since he had his entire army coming for her. Little did he know that her army was already in the mountains, at least that's what she hoped.

* * *

Early in the morning, the sun barely rising in the sky Xena arrived in the Balkan Mountains and smiled warmly seeing the beauty of the landscape. The mountains of her homeland was definitely a sight to see. Lush green terrain with waterfalls and snowy mountain tops. It was a paradise, though a bit rough in the winter, right now, the crisp air was wonderful and very refreshing from humid Athens and dry Egypt.

She trotted down the hillside and looked for Gabrielle and her army, she knew that they would be hiding somewhere though with the amount of men she had, they couldn't hide very well she knew. Ptolemy opened his eyes from his light slumber and felt the horse struggling to ride down the steep slope. His eyes widened at the sight before him. He had never been to Thrace or Greece before but it was definitely a lot more beautiful than Egypt ever was. Egypt had an odd beauty to it but it was nothing like this.

Near the large lake she saw a group of Persians filling up wineskins and she smiled. Whistling at them they turned their heads and saw Xena riding down the hillside. Large smiles graced their lips as they saw her coming towards them.

She finally made it to flat ground and they grinned, bowing their heads towards her. "Where is everyone else?" she scanned the area.

"Right through the trees there, empress," one of the Persian soldiers said and lead the way. They all noticed Ptolemy on the horse and eyed him cautiously. They weren't expecting Xena to bring anyone along, though they saw his hands were in chains and that was interesting, though they didn't question it.

* * *

Gabrielle was going over battle plans with Solan and Samuel. She drew in the dirt with a staff, drawing X's for Xena's army and O's for Octavius' army. She was guessing where Octavius would lead his army but there was no way to tell. She was deeply focused until she heard a few rustling in the trees ahead. Stopping she squinted her eyes and saw Xena riding in on her horse. Her face broke out into a large smile and she dropped the staff running towards Xena.

Xena smiled and dismounted from her horse, instantly embracing Gabrielle tightly. "I told you I would come back," she whispered.

Gabrielle pulled away, still smiling. "I had no doubt that you would come." Xena brushed Gabrielle's cheek with her palm and she blushed.

The empress took a good look around and saw all her men plus Samuel's men staring at her. She smiled placing her hands on her hips. "What made you want to come to Thrace?" she turned to Gabrielle.

The blonde shrugged, "it is your homeland. What better place to win a war than in your own home?" she winked and Xena smiled, grateful that Gabrielle had brought everyone here and so quickly too. She was rather impressed.

"A home doesn't always have to be a place," Xena said and Gabrielle's eyes widened. Solan smiled folding his arms as his mother spoke of the same words he said to Samuel a few days ago. Gabrielle couldn't believe that came out of Xena's mouth. It was like she heard her own thoughts even thousands of miles away. Xena walked over to Samuel and saw the concern in his eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder, easing his anxiety. "Eve is with your mother in Luxor. Her fever broke before I left. She'll be fine."

Samuel let out a big sigh of relief and lifted his palms to the sky. "Thank God," he said.

Solan sighed, "this guy is always praying," he chuckled. "You made it here quickly, mother."

Xena nodded, "I wanted to beat Octavius here. He is on his way here, I saw him with his army yesterday." All eyes lowered, fear growing inside them. "He should be here by nightfall."

Gabrielle frowned, "Xena we don't have any supplies. Everyone brought the weapons on their backs, that's it."

Xena knew that this was a problem that they would run into. Her army had limited supplies and Octavius would have a slew of weaponry. She saw the caravans filled with weapons as she traveled here. Though she had one advantage and that was that she had double the amount of men than he had, but she didn't want to sacrifice hers or Samuel's men because of the lack of weapons.

"We will have to make do with what we have for now," she said and everyone nodded, feeling a bit hopeless right now. "But we're going to need help."

Samuel spoke up, "the sea is not far from here. I can have my men go back to Persia to get supplies."

Gabrielle frowned, "Persia is too far from here," she then had an idea and snapped her fingers, "what if we ask Allat to help us?" she suggested. Solan nodded, not opposed to the idea and Samuel agreed, shrugging his shoulders. All three looked to Xena for her approval though she remained silent.

Xena shook her head, "Allat's kingdom is recovering from the Roman invasion. He will not have enough supplies for our entire army." Everyone was beginning to worry now until Xena smiled suspiciously. "We are in my homeland," she stated and everyone looked at her confusedly. "We can send men to cities in Thrace for supplies." She said and Gabrielle smiled thinking that this was a good idea. "Send the men out immediately and tell the people Xena sent them. I'm sure they will have no problem offering to help us fight against the Romans."

Solan was the first to offer assistance, "I will gather a group of men and go with them to the villages." He smiled and Xena nodded. He disappeared to find willing volunteers to go with him per his mother's request.

Samuel looked to Ptolemy who was patiently waiting on the horse. He pointed at him, "who's that?"

Xena turned around with a sneaky grin, "oh  _him_? Something I picked up in Egypt. Chain him to a tree, would you?" she smiled and walked off. Samuel blinked, confused why she brought this man here at a time like this but he learned not to question Xena and her ways of doing things by now.

Gabrielle followed Xena and both sat down around a campfire. Xena took off her helmet and Gabrielle grinned. "I see you got your helmet."

Xena smiled, "thank you for saving this for me," she set the helmet next to her boot and brushed her fingers across the black plume.

The blonde looked back to see Samuel chaining the mysterious guest to a tree like Xena asked him to do. "So...who is that?" she whispered.

"His name is Caesarion but he goes by Ptolemy," she sighed drinking some water, quenching her thirst. "He's the son of Caesar and Cleopatra."

Gabrielle gasped and looked back at the Pharaoh. "Caesar has a son?" she couldn't believe it and Xena nodded her head. "He kept him well hidden..." she supposed.

"He's a sneaky bastard," she chuckled. "I am using him as bait for Octavius. He wants me to give him Egypt." She saw the shock in Gabrielle's eyes and both started laughing. "I know, that was my instant reaction."

Gabrielle's laughter died down. "Are you going to kill him?"

Xena shook her head, "no. Even though he is the son of my enemy, he is innocent in all of this. He's lived his life in captivity because of his parents'. He doesn't deserve to die because of his parents' negligence."

"Wow I'm impressed. The old Xena would have beheaded him at first sight," Gabrielle smirked and Xena looked into her green eyes.

"The old Xena is dead...for now," she winked.

Gabrielle laughed, "Ha-ha, is that one of your jokes?" she said and Xena stared at her blankly and her smile disappeared. "That's not funny, Xena."

"We might need the old Xena for this war," Xena said with a hint of mischief. "Love and peace is not really working out for me and Octavius is like a flea that never seems to leave my skin. His entire empire needs to die along with him," her eyes darkened as she stared off in the distance.

**AN: to be continued in Part II!**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29 – _Part II of V: Revival of the Warlord_

Octavius had arrived a day after Xena did to the Balkan Mountains and was oblivious as to why he was lead to this place, but by the tracks he knew that Xena and her army were hiding here. He had no idea where they were hiding, which obviously gave Xena the advantage here.

Xena was hidden behind a large amount of trees with Gabrielle by her side. Solan and a group of men had gone to the cities in Thrace to retrieve weapons. She hoped that there would be enough for everyone, though she was known to improvise when necessary. Octavius obviously had more than enough weapons but not nearly enough men as her. Though, numbers were not important to Xena. A bigger army didn't always mean that you were better than the opponent. It often meant that they were gloating or showing off. Xena just happened to doing all the above. She wanted Octavius to leave and never come back, but she knew the only way that would be happen was if he was dead. And she was going to rid the Roman Empire of this young arrogant emperor.

Gabrielle squinted her eyes and saw Octavius and some of his army in the open field, completely unaware that they were staring right at him. He was giving himself away, but she knew that would happen because this was unfamiliar territory for him. Normally the battles were fought on flat land, nobody had anywhere to hide, but now, there were many hiding spots.

"When do we attack him?" the blonde asked, quite eager to get this on with.

Xena smiled, putting a finger over her lips, "not yet, Gabrielle. He is looking for a place to set up his tents for his army," she frowned, glancing around seeing exactly where he was planting his campsite. It was so obvious to her, though she was sure he was feeling anxious about this entire war.

The days were short in these mountains thus making darkness the ultimate advantage for Xena. A sneaky grin appeared on her lips and she grabbed Gabrielle's arm, pulling her along with her. "I have an idea," she was ecstatic. Gabrielle huffed and followed forcefully with Xena.

* * *

Later that evening Octavius was camped in his tent. They had found a reasonable spot, at least in his eyes. They were hidden in the trees, though not far from the stream down below. He sighed as he was looking for a map of the area. He was unfamiliar with these mountains and he had yet to see Xena and her army. He knew that she was here, which also made him incredibly nervous. He had no idea where she was hiding, but if she was here, then she'd already know that he'd arrived.

One of his men came into the tent and the emperor put down his quill staring at the young man. "Sir, we have the entire campsite set up."

Octavius nodded, "good. I want guards posted on the outskirts," he rubbed his bare chin, "I don't want Xena's men coming anywhere close to us. I know she's here, hiding in her snake hole."

The soldier quirked his mouth, "sir are you sure that she is here? We haven't seen any sign of them."

The emperor stood up and balled his fist, "of course she's here! The tracks lead us here!" he groaned and began to pace around. "Make sure we are well guarded," he shooed him away and the soldier left, bowing his head firmly before exiting. Octavius sighed and plopped down in his chair once more feeling stressed about this entire war. He was beginning to regret destroying Xena's home because he made a personal attack and Xena did not like it when her personal life interfered with political warfare. But considering that Xena had been out of practice in warfare for fifteen years, he wondered how well prepared Xena was, if she was at all. With all the years he had known her, he knew never to underestimate her. Since he did an unconventional act against Xena, he knew that was making her blood boil. She looked livid when he saw her face as she exited her flooded palace.

* * *

Back in Xena's campsite she gathered up a group of some of her men and some of Samuel's. She of course asked Gabrielle to accompany her. Since her last big war with Octavius twenty two years ago was definitely a victory, Xena was not able to participate as much as she'd like to, but this time it was different. And since Octavius was no longer playing by the rules then that meant that Xena wasn't either. She was going back to her roots, forgetting politics and elegant warfare of the empress status she worked so hard for. She forgot her title and was now a soldier just like everyone else. She wasn't going to stand off in the sidelines watching the battle from afar. No, she wanted to be a part of this war effort.

Dropping her crown as empress and her extravagant armor and cloak, she striped down to the bare necessities. Wearing only pants and a long sleeved top. She hooked her chakram onto her belt and strapped a bow to her back with a cluster of arrows.

Gabrielle stood with her arms folded quite confused as to what Xena's plan was. "Xena, what exactly are we doing?" she asked.

Xena grinned, "guerilla warfare, Gabrielle." She, the soldiers and Gabrielle were in a swampy area of the mountains. She knelt down and dipped her fingers in the mud, rubbing it in between her fingers. She then spread the clay mud across Gabrielle's cheek. "If Octavius wants to play, we can too." She gestured to the mud and the men immediately covered their faces in the clay. Gabrielle was still confused but she did as the others did.

Group of five men tagging along behind Gabrielle with Xena leading the way. Xena pinned back her bangs and her face and neck was covered in mud, making sure her silhouette was unseen to the naked eye in the darkness.

Everyone crept behind trees down to where Octavius' campsite was. Xena saw a few soldiers guarding the outskirts and halted her hand. Gabrielle crawled on her knees and eyed the soldiers. They were pacing around slowly, complaining about the cold crisp mountain weather. She looked up to Xena with a curious grin. Xena nodded and Gabrielle grabbed a rock throwing it at one of the Roman's helmets.

The Roman groaned and his partner immediately unsheathed his sword. His eyes dancing around trying to find who threw the rock. His heart began to race as he heard rustling in the trees. "Come out here!" he yelled, but nothing. His moaning partner growled and began walking to the bushes with a torch to get a better view.

One of the Persian archers smiled and drew his bow, shooting the pacing Roman. He groaned and fell to the ground. His partner gasped, turning around to see an arrow sticking out of his friend's chest. Now he was beginning to become afraid. It was so dark out here and there was no light from the moon and stars due to the high mountain peaks.

Xena crept behind the tree, smiling at the frightened Roman. She quickly grabbed him, covering his mouth pulling him into the darkness. With a quick move, she snapped his neck and drug his body behind a large tree. She waved her hand to the men behind her. Gabrielle came beside Xena and stared at the young Roman soldier.

"I've never seen you use these tactics before..." Gabrielle was really curious now. Xena winked at her and walked ahead quietly.

"Sometimes, you must go back to your old ways to win something new..." she whispered and crouched down. They all came to a stopping point and there Xena spotted the wagons filled with weapons. "If we don't have weapons, neither should he..." she grinned mischievously.

Gabrielle saw a Roman walking around with a torch circling the wagon. She saw Xena eyeing the wagons and something came over her. She smiled and ran forward. Xena's eyes widened, fearing that Gabrielle was going to ruin the entire plan. Gabrielle now understood what Xena's plan was, even though she was rather cryptic about it. She took out a dagger from her boot and covered the mouth of the Roman, slitting his throat.

Slowly, she lowered his body to the ground and took his torch. She saw some other soldiers were unaware even though they were a mere fifteen feet away from her. She threw the lit torch into one of the wagons and ran back into the trees.

Breathing heavily she grinned, quite proud of herself. Xena blinked, surprised at her skills. Gabrielle looked to her brunette consort and shrugged. "What? It's what you wanted, right?" she snickered.

Xena smiled at her then saw the other Romans screaming and yelling that one of their weapon caravans was on fire, burning all the bows, axes and arrows. "Well done Gabrielle," she drew her bow and shot three arrows at the three Romans running around like fire ants.

Two Persian soldiers ran forward and grabbed the other torches from the fallen Romans and lit the other three caravans on fire. Xena frowned as she saw a slew of Romans coming for them. She ran down below and looked up at the frail branches of the trees above the path the Romans were running through. She smiled and lit two of her arrows on fire and closed an eye, aiming upward at the branches. She shot the arrows and the frail branches immediately caught fire and Xena saw the Romans running. Her eyes widened wildly as she glanced at the branches beginning to break.

Gabrielle's mouth gaped as she looked above and saw the branches break and collapse on a bunch of Roman soldiers coming their way. The soldiers screamed in agony as their flesh began to burn and she looked to see Xena was elated.

"Xena..." she said breathlessly, "you've been holding back on your skills," she grinned widely and Xena pat her shoulder firmly. The empress whistled to the Persian soldiers to retreat. She knew more Romans would come and the job had been done. Step one, get rid of Octavius' resources. This was to be a fair fight, right?

Everyone returned to the campsite and Xena took the bow off her back, throwing it on the ground. Gabrielle looked below and could still see the fire and it had spread some. Black smoke filled the dark skies and she shook her head. She saw Xena beginning to wipe the mud off her face with a cloth. She sat beside her and drank some water. "You seemed excited back there," she nudged Xena's arm.

Xena smirked, "it has been awhile, but...it was nice," she gave Gabrielle the satisfaction of being right.

"Should we expect an attack soon?" Gabrielle asked, now coming back to reality. They had just destroyed hundreds of extra weapons and that would surely enrage the emperor.

Xena shook her head, "no, Octavius would not be foolish enough to attack at night. The dark is not his friend," she smiled and splashed her face with some water, trying to get the clay off her skin.

"Until the morning then," Gabrielle said with a mysterious grin.

* * *

In the dead of night a soldier burst into Octavius' tent with baited breath. The emperor frowned giving the man his full attention. "Sir! The caravans –burned! The weapons –gone!" he exhaled harshly.

The emperor's eyes grew irate. He growled and the map of Thrace off his desk. " _Xena_!" he yelled and flipped his desk over, growing more angry by the second. He brushed passed the young soldier exiting his tent. He looked around and saw his men running around like chickens with their heads cut off. They were in a panic.

He snarled, his upper lip quivered thinking that Xena had done this. She was playing dirty and she was so good at it. he had truly underestimated her skills as a fighter even at her age. He thought that this was going to be easy but he was wrong.

Looking around he frowned deeply. "Where are you..." he hissed. His head snapping around in all directions trying to figure out where the gorgon was hiding. Wherever she was hiding he was determined to find her. She was smart and had no open camp fires out in these dark mountains. She was good at hiding, it was a skill of hers. "I will find you, Xena," he smiled deviously.

A few short hours later morning arrived and Octavius had not slept all night. The war had not even touched its peak and he already lost at least ten men. Ten men he couldn't afford to lose compared to Xena's large army. He also lost his extra caravans of weapons, which was not good news for him. He needed those weapons. It was the only advantage that he had against her but he suspected that she knew that and got rid of the weapons to put herself at the top of the mountain.

Riding on his horse with a few men he pointed to his left. "Some of you go that way and the others will go the other way. I want you all to scout for Xena and her men. I want to know where she is hiding." He frowned, looking around. He thought it would be easier to see where she was during daylight, but he was wrong. She could be anywhere. "I also want to move our campsite elsewhere. Since she knows where we are, we are right in her trap." The men nodded to him and left to their respected areas.

* * *

Xena knew that Octavius would be on the move the following morning and so she was prepared. Sleeping a few hours was just enough for her to come up with a new plan. She had asked for a set of armor from one of her men. She was able to retrieve two sets from her men, of course they gladly offered it to her.

She returned to the camp and threw the armor on the ground startling Gabrielle as she was eating some fish. Gabrielle jumped and dropped her spoon in her bowl. "What's this?" she glanced up at Xena.

The brunette smirked, "our new armor." She began taking off her own gauntlets and putting on the male's large gauntlets.

"But we have armor..." Gabrielle wasn't following. She set her bowl aside and saw Xena continuing to don the armor set. She slipped the chest plate over her torso and tightened it with the leather straps. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and stood up. "What are you doing?"

Xena picked up the extra chest piece and pushed it into Gabrielle's chest. "We're going in disguise as male soldiers, Gabrielle. Come on, keep up," she jested and the blonde eyed her questionably.

"And  _why_  would we do that?" she asked though slipped on the heavy armor. She grunted and pulled the straps as tight as they would possibly go. She learned not to question Xena's ways of doing things but this was just unconventional. Xena's tactics were unlike she had ever seen and they were new to her, though Xena had obviously used these tactics before a very long time ago. Perhaps when she was a young warlord just starting out in the battlefield and as she grew more powerful she hid behind her veil of power. This war with the Roman Empire brought out a new side of Xena that Gabrielle had never witnessed before. It was refreshing though confusing at all once.

Xena smiled, "we're going hunting," she took one of the Persian's turbans and wrapped it around her face, hiding her long locks and feminine face.

She gathered up a group of ten men from her army and Gabrielle followed her. They went east in the mountains. Xena knew that Octavius was going to try and find her, but she wanted to confuse the poor emperor.  _He will never find me_ , she thought,  _even though I am right in front of him_.

* * *

Everyone had their faces covered with a black long piece of fabric, including Gabrielle. They walked together in the woods and Xena stopped, looking up at the trees. She eyed Gabrielle with a bit of mischief in her eyes. "do you climb trees, Gabrielle?" she hissed. Xena jumped up and grabbed onto a tree branch, swinging her legs up and over, landing on the tree branch.

Gabrielle's eyes widened and now she didn't even know who Xena was anymore. She had been in battles with her before but this style of strategy was unknown to her, especially with her own upbringing. She had trained with Roman fighting styles but this method was almost archaic and tribal. She wondered where Xena learned how to do this.

A few voices were heard and some of the men managed to climb up in neighboring trees. Gabrielle wasn't even going to try, she thought she would definitely injure herself. Instead, she crouched down behind some brush, peeking through the leaves. Looking up in the tree above she saw Xena crouched down against the tree trunk, listening to the voices come closer. Gabrielle sighed, feeling her heart racing. It was such a thrill, yet scary all at once.

Xena creased her eyebrows and peeked from behind the tree and saw Romans on horseback and foot searching the area. She looked to her men in the trees across from her. She shook her head preventing them from attacking. She smiled and saw the last Roman on horseback riding behind the entourage. She silently jumped down onto the horse and covered the Roman's mouth.

He looked back and saw a soldier with his face veiled. Xena smiled behind the veil and dug her fingers into his neck, knocking the soldier out and then slit his throat before throwing him off the horse. She rode behind the Romans and they were completely oblivious.

Xena's men above crouched down and walked across branches from one tree to the next, trying to keep up. Gabrielle came out from the brush and saw the dead Roman lying on the ground. She quietly followed behind hiding in the trees, remaining unseen by the Roman soldiers.

"I can't believe he's making us look for Xena," one of the Romans said.

Another scoffed, "yeah, it's pretty obvious that she doesn't want to be found."

"She hides a lot. It's what she's good at!" the other Romans laughed along with him.

Xena frowned and pulled out a dagger, throwing it at one of their necks. He let out a loud cry and fell off his horse. The other soldiers turned around and saw one of their cohorts dying on the ground. They also saw a masked soldier, one of Xena's  _men_. She waved at them and they drew their swords, hopping off their horses. She jumped off the horse and withdrew her own sword waiting for this moment.

Gabrielle was still hidden behind a tree and she smiled, drawing her Sais out from her boots and attacked one of the men from behind, stabbing the Sais into his calves. The Roman cried out in agony and collapsed onto the ground. Xena winked at her and thrust her blade into an oncoming soldier.

The archers in the trees aimed and shot their arrows into the Romans down below. One of them was missed and he looked up and saw Xena's men in the trees. "What in Hades is this?!" he yelled in fear. He saw his brothers being slaughtered by just a few of Xena's men. He quickly ran to his horse and dropped his weapon out of fear and a hurry to get out of this area. He didn't care about Xena and her men, he didn't want to die.

Gabrielle punched one of the Roman's in the face and stabbed him with the Sais. She breathed heavily, feeling her blood pumping through her veins. Glancing up she saw one of them escaping. Xena growled and kicked the soldier down onto the ground and twirled her sword in her wrist right before plunging the blade into his chest.

"He's getting away!" she yelled and Xena pulled out her sword, finishing the last of the small group.

She sighed and took the veil off her face, and watched the coward ride away into the woods. "Let him go. He's going to die anyway when Octavius finds out that all of his men died," she smirked. Looking around at all the dead Romans surrounding them. She placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Good job, Gabrielle. You're getting good at this," she smiled and began walking off into the western mountains.

Gabrielle took the veil off and gaped at Xena. "Good at what? Xena!" she ran after her.

* * *

Solan was able to travel to neighboring cities in Thrace to gather weapons like Xena asked him to. He rode on his horse further into this village and squinted his eyes from the bright sunlight. A smile came to him once he realized where he was. It was his mother's home, her true home when she was a child and teenager. Amphipolis. He had been here before a very long time ago, but hadn't been back since that last time to see Cyrene, his grandmother.

Xena did not seem to keep in contact with her mother as much as he'd hoped. A lot had happened in the last decade, but he did miss this area. It wasn't as busy or metropolitan like Athens was. It was calmer here and relaxing too. The people here were also very kind and not so business-like compared to the larger Greek cities. He wondered if Amphipolis was still the same as he left it so long ago.

Riding into the city he saw many people staring at him, of course, he was not recognized, but he recognized all of the shops and homes in the village. Everything was the same except for one thing. The Romans had invaded Amphipolis which definitely sent Xena over the edge. He attacked her homeland in hopes to gain more territory and that's what perhaps started this entire war, or at least one of the things.

Smiling at everyone, the group of men behind him saw fear in the people's eyes. They looked afraid of them. These people had obviously been through a lot and he almost didn't want to ask for any weapons from them.

He came to the outskirts and saw his mother's old home, it was larger than most homes, probably because her mother, Cyrene, owned not one but several taverns throughout Amphipolis and various Thracian cities. She was considered rather wealthy in this small village. Solan hopped off his horse and told his men to stay behind and wait for him.

He walked towards the home and exhaled heavily, not sure this was a good idea especially in the middle of a war. He knocked on the door and took a generous step back from the door. He waited for awhile and heard rustling from inside. Gradually the door opened and he saw Cyrene, she looked much the same, minus a few grey hairs in her auburn brown hair.

Cyrene squinted her eyes at the man at her door then her eyes widened. "Solan?" finally recognizing who he was. He was a lot older than she last saw him. He reminded her of her youngest son, Lyceus –the same blonde hair, eyes and facial structure, although he had a lot of Xena in him. His smile was definitely Xena's and his slim build.

"Solan?" she smiled and he grinned back at her nodding his head. She stepped out of the house and embraced him warmly. "What are you doing in Amphipolis? Is your mother with you?"

He pulled away with a pained face. "Well, she's not in Amphipolis but she is  _here_. We're warring against Octavius right now in the mountains in the west. She asked me to come gather weapons for the war effort, but..." he looked around at the people in the village, "I don't really want to ask you guys for weapons.." he grinned sheepishly.

Cyrene shook her head thinking of Xena. She hadn't seen her in many years and thought she was done with those Romans, but apparently not. "Your mother is very stubborn. She will stop at nothing, will she?" she smiled weakly.

He shrugged his shoulders, "you know how she is," he chuckled softly.

Cyrene agreed, "yes I definitely know how she is," she smiled looking at what a fine young man Solan has become. "You've grown up so much, Solan. I wish I could have been there more for you," she sighed then her eyes lit up, thinking of her other grandchild, Eve. "How is Eve? Is she with Xena?"

Solan quirked his mouth, "no she's in Egypt right now." He saw his grandmother's confused face. "She's um," he tapped his chin, "she's pregnant and mother didn't want her anywhere near the war right now."

She stood still and silent. Solan blinked, watching her expression go unchanged for a few moments. "She's pregnant?" she couldn't believe her ears. "When did that happen?"

He didn't really want to talk about Eve and Samuel's relationship because it was his sister and also was none of his business. He smiled kindly, "about six months ago. Maybe when this is all over, we can bring Eve to see you," his smile widened.

Cyrene grinned quite liking that idea a lot. "I still remember when Eve when a little girl, somehow I believe that she grew up to be quite a handful, considering Xena is her mother," she exhaled heavily.

He scoffed, "you have no idea! She was definitely more than mother could handle especially when she was a teenager. Now though, she's more calm," he smiled.

"I hope so. Is Gabrielle with Xena right now? I miss that girl, she's so smart, isn't she?" she grinned.

Solan nodded, "yes she's with mother. She's great, I love her a lot. I don't know where I would be without her by my side. She and mother have been through a lot. It will be tough to separate those two," he smirked. He looked to his men who were waiting for him and he sighed, "well, I need to get back to the mountains with these weapons."

Cyrene hated to see him go. She hadn't seen him in so long and now he was leaving her once again. "Tell Xena...that I miss her and she should come visit," she said sadly.

He nodded with a wide grin, "I will," he hugged her tightly before saying goodbye to make the trek back to the Balkan Mountains. Cyrene watched as he mounted his horse and left with the caravans of weapons with the soldiers in tow. She sighed thinking that she had missed so much of her daughter's life and now Eve was pregnant, which would make Xena..a grandmother. Cyrene couldn't imagine her daughter's face when she found out about that. Xena was always prepared for the worst but somehow she believed that Xena wouldn't have been prepared for a surprise such as that.

* * *

Gabrielle walked over to Xena as they sat down in their small campsite. They waited and waited for another attack but she presumed that Octavius was running out of ideas and obviously had gotten word from that soldier that left the scene on horseback. She sighed drawing in the dirt with a stick.

Xena was cleaning her sword and looked over to a disturbed Gabrielle. "What's wrong, Gabrielle?"

She glanced up and smiled weakly, "nothing. I was just thinking of all the skills you have." She tapped the ground with the stick and scoffed, "how did you learn how to do some of that stuff?"

Xena smiled, "I learned from the Amazons a long time ago. Their skills are very useful in a battle like this."

"Amazons? You met Amazons?" Gabrielle rubbed her forehead. "You are full of surprises, aren't you?"

The brunette winked, "I like to keep you on edge at all times, Gabrielle. It's my secret for staying so young," she teased. Gabrielle chuckled softly and then saw Samuel come up to them.

"I did what you said, Xena. My men are guarding the perimeters of our camp." He pulled out a pouch from his vest and frowned. "I didn't find the berries you asked for, but I did find these leaves. They're very poisonous." He tossed the bag to her and she looked inside, smelling the leaves.

Gabrielle frowned, "poisonous leaves?" she almost didn't want to know.

Xena nodded, "Gabrielle, I have a mission for you." She stood up and pointed to the stream close to Octavius' camp. "See that stream over there?" Gabrielle nodded. "I want you to crush these leaves and put it in the water."

"You want to poison their water supply?" Gabrielle was surprised at these tactics. Xena nodded her head with a sneaky smile. "Well, alright," Gabrielle grinned mischievously, now excited that she was assigned a special mission. It was obvious that Xena wanted to get rid of Octavius by taking out all of his resources without bloodshed first. It was smart, yet dangerous too.

"Take a group of men with you," Xena called out and Gabrielle nodded, running off to find a willing group to go with her. Now Xena was alone with Samuel and he was being very quiet. She sat down and continued cleaning her blade. Samuel stood looking out mindlessly at the waterfall below the hill.

"Something troubling you, Samuel?" she asked nicely and he turned to her, shaking his head in silence. She smirked, "you know I don't like when people lie to me."

He sighed and leaned against a tree, folding his arms. "It's been almost two weeks since I've seen Eve."

Xena knew that he definitely missed Eve and it was painfully obvious in his face and lack of voice. "I know you miss her, but once this is all over you will be able to see her again." She smiled.

He nodded, understanding her but still didn't fix the fact that Eve wasn't here with him now. He kicked some dirt with his boot and sighed deeply. "I don't know how long this war will go on. So far, it's very slow."

Xena grinned deviously, "it won't be slow once Gabrielle is finished with her mission." She looked at the clean blade and set it aside. She pat the empty spot next to her and he waltzed over and took a seat beside her. "I know you've never been in a war before, but it doesn't always end as quickly as we want it to. Sometimes wars go on for years. I just happen to shorten mine," she winked and he smiled weakly. "Wars that go on for years are pointless and very costly." She saw her speech wasn't really making the Persian King feel better at all.

They sat in silence for awhile and then she sighed. "Eve asked for you when we were in Luxor." She saw his eyes lit up. "I know she misses you as much as you miss her. What you two have is special and even when you're far apart, know that it's only temporary."

Samuel agreed to that. "I know, but it feels so long!"

She grinned, "when you're young everything feels that way, but as you get older it becomes easier. I promise you," she pat his shoulder and he smiled.

"I just want to help her as much as I can and I can't do that while I'm here so...I guess that's why I'm so...so..." he was trying to find the word to convey his angst.

"Upset? Depressed? Sad?" she teased and he looked to her. "It's pretty obvious, Samuel." She saw his cheeks blush and she smiled. "Only temporary, remember that," she winked and he grinned at her, feeling a bit better than he did earlier.

She stood up sheathing her sword and watched from behind a tree. She saw Gabrielle creeping around the waterfall to the other side where the Roman camp was. Samuel came beside her and he asked her, "so after Eve has the twins, I should talk to my mother about the wedding, right?"

Xena's eyes widened and she grinned nervously. "One thing at a time, Samuel," she pat his cheek and he blinked.


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: my title of this sequel is finally coming to light in this chapter, for good reason.**

Chapter 30 – _Part III of V: The Snow Queen_

Eve had been waiting in Luxor for the last few weeks, almost a month now to hear from her mother and Gabrielle but so far she was left in the dark. She hadn't received any word from them at all and wondered how everyone was fairing. She knew that her being here was for her own good, but to be honest she was quite bored even though she had Hatima here with her. The Queen had left briefly to go back to Karnak to take her step son's daughter back before her parents arrived. Though that was a few days ago and Hatima returned in a timely manner.

Eve stayed in bed as long as possible but she was feeling significantly better and no longer stayed in bed. She roamed around this hidden palace of her mother's and thought it was quite beautiful, even more than the one she had in Cairo. The only down side was that it was in the middle of the desert and it was boring because they were far from civilization. It had been so long since she had seen something green and she was dying to get back to Greece where she belonged. She just hoped she wouldn't have to stay here for much longer. She wished that her mother would send some kind of letter to her like she said she would, but she hadn't.

In the middle of a rainy day, which was apparently very rare in the desert, Eve welcomed the change of weather for once. This past month had been so dry and hot a little rain was quite nice. She roamed through the large empty hallway and stared at all the Egyptian statues. Sighing she came to an empty hall that she hadn't explored yet. Curiosity getting the best of her she rounded the corner and opened the first door that she walked by.

The room was dark so she lit a few candles and then saw the room was a library, a place that was obviously rarely used. Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped looking at the towering shelves filled with scrolls and even books. Greece didn't have books, apparently they were a new thing, although she presumed that Egypt was no stranger to these compiled manuscripts. Treading in further she blew the dust off one of the books on a shelf and brushed the remainder of dust off with her palm.

"Al..." she squinted her eyes trying to read this language. She wished that Gabrielle were here, she'd know exactly what this said. Groaning she then heard a noise coming from the window. Her eyes traveled to the noise and saw a large black cat laying on the window ledge. A smile came to her when she saw the cat. It was obviously a cat that had grown accustomed to the palace considering it wore a gold collar around its neck.

Slowly she approached the large cat and it began swishing its tail slowly. She touched the top of its head and instantly the cat began purring loudly.

Hatima came into the room, looking for Eve she saw her interacting with quite a large...black..leopard? "Eve, what are you doing in here?"

Eve turned and saw Hatima staring at her worrisome about the cat. "I found this library then I found this cat! Isn't he gorgeous?"

The Persian Queen nodded nervously, "I didn't know that Xena liked cats...especially big cats..." she stepped closer though kept her distance.

Eve smiled and rubbed the leopard's neck and he pawed her hand gently. "My mother doesn't really like cats. She likes...really unconventional pets," she smiled, "I used to have a pet spider when I was younger. Well actually, it was my mother's spider but she let me keep her. Her name was Zoe."

Hatima nodded, "oh, well that's...interesting," she tried not to sound too squeamish. She would have never thought that a princess like Eve would keep a spider as a pet. "Why don't you come with me, I received a message from Xena," she smiled waving a letter in her hand.

Eve instantly left the large feline to go with Hatima. Just when she was about to the leave the library the cat followed her and clung to her leg. Hatima's eyes widened, a bit afraid of the giant feline. Eve grinned and tried to close to the door but the leopard opened the door with his paw and followed her. "I don't think he wants to leave me..."

"Oh how  _nice_  of him..." Hatima smiled nervously as the black leopard followed Eve out of the library.

They came back into the bedroom and the cat followed them both. Eve sat on the bed and the cat jumped onto the bed, relaxing at the end with his long legs hanging off the edge of the bed. Hatima sat a good distance away from the cat, fearful of the giant beast. Eve ripped open the letter and read over it quickly.

A frown came to her lips, "they're still at war with Octavius and his army." She sighed and kept reading, "although we seem to be in the lead," she smiled softly. "At least that's good news, right?" she looked to the Persian queen.

Hatima smiled patting Eve's knee gently. "Any news is good news, right?"

Eve tossed the letter aside and groaned, "gosh, I'm going to be stuck here forever!" she griped. "My mother has never had a war last this long," she laid down, toying with her hair mindlessly.

* * *

"Fire!" Xena yelled and the Persian archers shot flaming arrows into the skies aiming directly at Octavius' men below. A month passed by quickly and just as Xena thought, Octavius had extra help when Tiberius and his Turkic friends came from Anatolia to help. Xena still had the larger army, but now, they had fancy weapons such as catapults, something that she desperately needed at the moment.

Snow had covered the entire terrain and continued to fall during daylight. At night there were occasional blizzards but nothing that they couldn't handle. Without Solan's help the entire army wouldn't have any shelter and the tents weren't anything special but they sufficed for now.

Xena covered herself in a white fox pelt and hat for warmth. Wearing long black gloves she was trying to pour powder into a bottle. She groaned and bit off the glove and tossed it aside, seeing her breath from the cold frigid weather. Gabrielle came to her aid and took the bottle from her. She silently thanked her.

"This isn't really working, Xena. They have catapults! Freakin' catapults!" she yelled in the midst of all the background noise.

"I know Gab –" she heard a whistling noise and looked up and saw they were the instant target. She pushed Gabrielle and herself out of the way and rolled down the hill together.

Gabrielle lifted her face out of the snow and looked to see their tents on fire. She saw Xena struggling to get out of the snow then realized she had hurt herself. "Xena!" she stood up, picking her boots out of the snow, slowly wading through the thick snow trying to get to Xena.

Xena hissed and saw her leg had a large part of a tree branch embedded into it. Gabrielle gasped and realized they were in the open and completely vulnerable. She wrapped her arm around Xena and hoisted her out of the bank of snow. "This is so...stupid," the blonde mumbled and together they walked out of the snow slowly.

Gabrielle threw Xena's weight down next to a tree, finally able to get cover. She knelt down and looked at Xena's leg. "I need to take care of this..."

"No!" Xena tried to get up and Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, not willing to argue with her.

"Just –stay here and don't do anything ridiculous," she sighed and ran back to their camp to grab some bandages and herbs. Xena groaned and looked around to see she was all alone. She looked down to see Octavius definitely hiding, though his view was completely obvious. She also saw Solan and Samuel at the bottom of the hill, having too good of a time together fighting the Romans in the front of the line behind some archers.

She began to recall the last time she had a perfect view of Octavius and she was about to shoot him with her arrow until someone shot her in the leg instead. She would never forget what a terrible day that was. She did win the war, but she lost many important people to her, one being Borias. He saved her and in the process, died for her. Groaning she scooted forward and took the bow off her back. Breathing heavily from the agonizing pain, she tried not to move her leg too much, but it was nearly impossible.

She pulled an arrow out from the holster and squinted her eye trying to get a good view of the Roman Emperor. He obviously couldn't see her, just like last time. "This time..." she hissed, "I won't miss," she pulled back the arrow leveling it steadily.

The arrow was released and her eyes widened watching the arrow and saw it hit Octavius in the shoulder. She grinned then turned to see Gabrielle gawking at her with a bandage in one hand and herbs in the other. Xena couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

"I didn't miss," Xena said lowly, quite proud of that moment. That arrow probably wouldn't kill him, but it was a direct hit. Gabrielle immediately saw a group of people dragging off Octavius into a more secure area to treat his wound. She sighed and knelt down getting ready to dress Xena's leg wound.

"Did you really have to do that?" she said and touched the wound and Xena winced.

Xena smiled weakly, "yes! I've been waiting to take that shot for over twenty years!" she pulled her leg away as Gabrielle was trying to pull the branch out. "Gabrielle!"

"Sorry! I can't be any more gentle okay," she sighed and slowly pulled the branch out and tossed it aside. Xena let out a sigh of relief. She looked down below and saw the Romans beginning to retreat for now. Inwardly she thanked Xena for that little moment of...whatever that was –because it bought them some time to regroup. They had been going at this archer-catapult battle for three days now and it was destroying their side of the field a lot more than what damage they were doing.

* * *

That evening Solan and Samuel gathered everyone from the field and head up to their camp. They were smiling and talking together when they came up the hill. Their laughter stopped when they saw Xena's leg bandaged and put in a small splint.

"What happened to you?" Solan said and Xena waved her hand like it was nothing.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes, "we were trying to avoid a catapult attack and rolled down a hill. She hurt her leg there." Xena glared at her and she smiled sneakily at her.

Solan sighed, "you always manage to hurt yourself, mother." He smiled, seeing that his mother was obviously not fazed by her injury. "You should have been down there! It was so exciting!"

Xena smiled, "I saw you two down there. But please...be careful," she couldn't stress that enough. Her son rolled his eyes and went to grab some much needed water.

"winners don't need to be worried!" Samuel winked, feeling a lot better since that battle down in the field against the Romans. His depression had lessened as the days went by and he hated to admit it, but it was going fast like Xena said it would. He didn't believe it at first, but he definitely did now. It was winter in the mountains now and he was actually enjoying the snow unlike his men who hated the cold weather.

Gabrielle watched Samuel leave and head off with Solan elsewhere. She smiled and Xena was watching them as well. "Those two are getting along really well."

"Yes they are," Xena shifted and winced even at the slightest movement of her leg. She saw the worried look in Gabrielle's eyes. "I'm fine." She held her hand up and Gabrielle backed down.

"Did you send the letter to Egypt?" Gabrielle whispered. Xena nodded. "Hopefully Eve doesn't think that we have forgotten about her."

Xena smiled, "I told her I would come back for her and that's what we're going to do, but we have to win first," she winked.

* * *

Two days later Xena was overlooking the empty field. It was very quiet and all she heard were the rustling of the trees from the crisp winds. Everyone was waiting for an attack especially since Xena had wounded Octavius, though the emperor did not know this, Xena was sure he had an idea it was her.

She saw a white flag appear from the Roman's side of the field and she smirked. "He is trying to surrender. How cute," she folded her arms. She looked to her men, "raise the flag."

Gabrielle's mouth gaped, "you are surrendering?"

Xena shook her head, "no I'm just letting him think that I am." She grabbed Gabrielle's arm. "Come on Gabrielle, we have a meeting with the wounded emperor," she smirked, limping along to get to her white horse.

In the middle of the field Xena and Gabrielle rode together alone as Xena requested. Though the entire army was waiting on standby in case something happened. She looked around for any attacks but so far there was none. She saw Octavius standing with Tiberius up on the hillside. She smiled trotting along slowly, all dressed in white matching her horse and snow surrounding her.

* * *

Octavius snarled looking at Xena coming closer to his camp. "Look at her and that arrogant smile on her face."

Tiberius frowned, "she needs to be exterminated," he stated. The emperor nodded then halted with his hand.

"Not yet," he smiled as he saw Xena walking up the hill with Gabrielle leaving her horse down at the bottom of the hill.

Xena smiled and now stood a mere ten feet away from the emperor. "Octavius..." she hissed.

"Xena," he smiled mischievously. He pointed to the flag, "I see you have surrendered. This war has gone on long enough, don't you think?" he tried to sway her and she just laughed at him. He frowned, "let's just call a truce and I'll go back to Rome and you can go back to your...oh wait," he grinned, "you don't have a home anymore!" he chuckled softly with his partner laughing along with him.

Xena frowned, "you must think you're so funny." She took a step closer and that quieted the emperor. "I'm not going to let you leave these mountains until the snow bleeds red." She hoped that would get his attention.

"is that a threat?" Octavius asked with a straight face.

" _Is_  it?" she hissed. " _You_  tell me," she winked. Her cryptic language beginning to come to light once again, infuriating the emperor. "I'll tell you what, Octavius," she unsheathed her sword and touched the tip of the blade playfully, "you duel with me and if you win, you can go back to Rome. If I win..." she grinned wickedly, "Rome is mine."

Octavius smiled and held out his hand. Tiberius looked to him as if he was crazy. "Are you serious?"

"Give me my sword!" he demanded and Tiberius handed him the sword. He smiled, "alright Xena, I know you are not one to go back on your word."

"Can't say the same about you," she teased.

He pushed her out of the way with a slight brush to her shoulder and she clicked her tongue against her cheek. Gabrielle put her hand on her shoulder. "Xena...are you sure you want to do this?"

Xena nodded, "he's not going to win, Gabrielle. Don't worry," she smiled and walked off to meet Octavius in the open field below the hill. Gabrielle shook her head feeling a headache coming on.

Octavius saw Xena coming towards him casually twirling her sword with her wrist. He wasn't able to move his left shoulder due to his injury. He smiled steadying himself in the snow. "White doesn't really suit you Xena. It's too...pure."

Xena smiled, "you talk too much Octavius." She swung her sword and he blocked her blow. She circled around him graciously. "That's a nasty wound you have there," she pointed to his shoulder.

"A gift from you I'm sure..." he playfully said with a smirk. She shrugged a shoulder and swung at him again and almost got his arm. He chuckled and she smiled at him continuing to circle around him.

"Almost had you there," she said and bent her knees, holding onto the sword with both hands.

He frowned and swung at her neck but she ducked and swiped her leg underneath him, knocking him off his feet. He groaned then saw Xena about to plunge her sword into him and he gasped, rolling over and Xena plunged the sword into the snow. He got up as quickly as he could and breathed heavily staring at her. She had a wild scary look in her icy blue eyes. Perhaps the snow was indeed her friend, he thought.

"You look like some kind of queen of the snow in that outfit you know," he smiled trying to distract her.

Xena smirked, "snow queen, empress –they're all just titles."

Gabrielle watched from afar and she cringed every time Octavius came close to her and also whenever Xena missed. She was obviously holding back, but why? She wanted to play with him that's what it was. She wanted to tire him out since she wouldn't be able to get tired it was a big advantage to her.

Octavius swung his blade and Xena lost her footing and fell on her back onto the soft snow. Her hair doused in the snow and she grunted. She saw his blade coming for her head and she rolled over. He plunged the blade into the snow and he began laughing as soon as Xena stood up.

She saw chunks of her long hair fall off her shoulder and saw the remainder of her hair in the snow. Her mouth gaped and she touched her hair pulling a chopped piece out. She was absolutely horrified. Her hair was now to her shoulders, her long hair no more.

Gabrielle covered her mouth as soon as she saw Octavius chop off all of Xena's hair. It just laid there in the snow and Xena looked equally as terrified seeing her hair in the snow.

"What is a lion without her mane..." Octavius chuckled seeing the horror in Xena's eyes. He then saw the horror disappear and now she was angry and his smiled died.

She cried out and swung her blade at him and then kicked him in the gut and he stumbled back. She could feel the fury running through her veins. He took her home, her life and now her hair. She kicked him down and he fell in the snow.

Xena picked him up grabbing onto his clothed cape and head butted him and he groaned loudly. She then punched him in the nose and he moaned.

Gabrielle's eyes widened as she saw that Xena was basically pounding Octavius' face in. she wanted to intervene but it was obvious that she had been wanting to do this to Octavius for quite a long time.

Blood trickled down Octavius' face and Xena rammed him into the snow and straddled her legs over him and sat on top of him. She breathed heavily and reached for her sword that was lying in the snow. She looked down at the Roman and he had one eye open, the other so badly wounded. She smiled down at him.

She saw the Roman crest on his armor and looked at it carefully. She then ripped it off his armor and he stared up at her. "This is mine now," she narrowed her eyes and thrust her sword high into the air. "I win!" she let out a loud war cry and thrust her sword into his chest of armor. She dug the blade deeper and deeper, hearing him screaming out in pain.

Blood poured out from his mouth and he coughed blood onto Xena's face. She cringed and wiped the blood off her cheeks, smearing it. She stood up and took her sword out and wiped the blood on his cape. "Now you don't have a home either...or a life," she spat at him and left him to die in the snow.

Walking towards Gabrielle she saw the shock in her eyes. She opened her palm and there was the Roman crest pendant in her hand. "I want you to keep this," she smiled and Gabrielle took the pendant for herself and still was in a bit of shock. Xena touched Gabrielle's cheek softly and kissed her forehead lightly.

Xena then frowned and saw Tiberius up on the hill. She marched up the hill and he began to back away. "Your emperor is dead," she said and his eyes widened. "I am your new empress now," she grinned.

Tiberius snarled, "you don't own the Roman Empire, Xena! You'll never be a Roman Emperor!"

" _Empress_ , Tiberius, Empress. I  _am_...Empress," she narrowed her eyes with a sly smug smile.

He grabbed his sword in a fit of rage and swung at her. She growled and blocked his attack and knocked the blade out of his wrist. She then grabbed his arm and broke it. he cried out in agony and then kicked him down to the ground.

"We will never...submit to you..." he held his broken arm breathing heavily as he glared at her from down below.

"I'm not asking for your submission." She smiled, "I ask for obedience!" she plunged her sword into his chest and he coughed violently, dying a slow death.

Gabrielle came to Xena's side. "Xena..." she said softly, "is it finally over?" she could only hope.

Xena smiled and glanced over at the dying Roman beside her. She sighed loudly, "I'd say so..." she kissed Gabrielle warmly on her lips and pulled away, smiling softly at her.

Gabrielle's face broke out into a wide smile and then touched Xena's shoulder length hair. Xena grabbed her hand tightly, "it's just hair," the empress said trying to hide her emotions.

"We should get back to the men and tell them what happened," Gabrielle grabbed Xena's arm pulling her along.

Xena nodded then halted. "Wait," she wiggled out of her hold and saw Octavius' Roman helmet sitting on his chair. The big red plumed golden helmet. She picked up the helmet and smiled, raising an eyebrow she put the helmet on.

Gabrielle smiled seeing victory finally. "It doesn't really suit you..." she teased.

"It's the red feathers isn't it?" Xena jested and linked arms with Gabrielle, walking to their horses to head back to camp together.

**AN: but it's not over yet! ;)**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – _Part IV of V: Starting Over_

Xena and Gabrielle returned to their campsite and all the men were still waiting on standby although they did see the quick duel between Octavius and Xena, they only hoped everything was over.

Solan smiled once he saw his mother and Gabrielle return safely. He saw his mother wearing Octavius' helmet, which only meant that she won. Everybody won. "So does this mean the war is over now?"

Gabrielle smiled, "I think so, right Xena?"

Xena nodded, "well I hope so but Octavius should really get a new helmet, this one is hideous," she took the helmet off and Solan gasped at her short hair.

"Your hair...it's...gone," he said barely above a whisper. All his life he had only seen his mother with extremely long hair and now it was chopped off to her shoulders. It looked so strange to him, she didn't even really look like the same person.

The empress sighed, "yes well, we had a bit of an... _accident_  down there," she put it lightly and touched her short hair. It was definitely something that she would have to get used to, but after all it was just hair in the end. Although, her hair was her pride and a part of who she was and now that was gone. Everything she had was gone, but now that Octavius was gone, she felt like that none of that really mattered anymore.

Samuel walked over and his eyes widened seeing Xena's hair. "Whoa," is all he could say. "Xena, your hair..." he smiled awkwardly seeing the blank stares he was getting from Xena and Gabrielle alike. "Looks nice, going for a new look?" he chuckled nervously and Solan raised an eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat then heard something from down below in the field.

He squinted his eyes and saw Roman soldiers coming for their campsite. "Hey guys..." he said lowly, "I think we have a problem."

Gabrielle and Xena walked forward and saw the Romans running towards them. Gabrielle shook her head, "they won't give up will they?"

Xena's lip quivered, "why won't they admit that they lost?" she huffed and grabbed her sword. Gabrielle blinked and followed her.

"What are you doing?" she asked and Xena donned the Roman helm again.

"Going to give them a taste of their new empress," she winked and threw a sword to Gabrielle. "Coming?"

As if Gabrielle could refuse her. She smiled and followed Xena down the hill by foot to confront the Romans. Solan pat Samuel's shoulder with a big sneaky grin. "Well, Samuel, looks like it's time to fight again."

Samuel showcased a cheeky grin, "I can't believe I would ever say this, but let's do this," he winked and slapped Solan's hand before going to meet with his archers hiding behind the trees. He knelt down and saw Xena and Gabrielle casually walking towards the Romans, though many of the Greek soldiers followed behind them, walking a steady pace.

"On my word," Samuel yelled out and Solan grabbed his bow to stand behind a few of the archers. Samuel saw the Romans coming closer and closer. "Ready..." he heard the bow's strings pull back and he waited a few more moments until the right time. "Go!" he smiled and a sky of black arrows were shot into the sky.

The Romans halted and saw the arrows coming right for them. They panicked and grabbed their shields protecting themselves from the raining arrows.

* * *

Xena and Gabrielle paused and waited for the rain of arrows to stop. Xena sighed and Gabrielle chuckled seeing Xena's impatience. The empress looked behind her and saw Samuel and Solan waving at her. She shook her head and kept walking along into the field.

The Romans still alive came running towards her and she sliced through them with ease as she walked along casually. Blood splattering on her face and white fox pelts. She wiped her mouth and kept walking through the sea of soldiers. Taking a good look around she frowned, seeing all these fools trying to fight when they had no leader anymore. Octavius was gone, she killed him and though she knew he wouldn't have a chance in Hades, they still were loyal to him. "Unbelievable," she hissed.

Gabrielle plunged her blade into a Roman's chest and growled, kicking him down to the ground. She ran to catch up to Xena. Breathing heavily she said, "will they ever stop?"

Xena snarled and marched further into the field, her men creating a circle of protection around her. Gabrielle stuck close to Xena, fighting Romans that were trying to break the circle. Xena ignored them all.

She came to Octavius' dead body and frowned, seeing his pale face and blood stained snow around him. She lifted his head up by his blonde hair and swiftly swung her sword, decapitating his head from his body. Xena turned around and lifted his head in the air and all the Romans looked to her.

"This is who you follow? A dead man?" she yelled out and the fighting ceased. "A man who cared more about war than his own people!"

Silence.

"If we combine empires, we can live in peace but instead..." Xena smiled, "you'd rather fight."

A Roman soldier growled, "Rome will never follow you, Xena!"

"They said that about Athens too...yet I have been alive and well ruling the city for decades," she smiled. She tossed Octavius' head into the center of the circle and pointed her blade at it. "Don't be foolish." She lifted her eyebrow, "surrender now and I will personally escort your entire army to Rome myself." She offered lifting her chin.

The Romans looked confused, staring at each other, unsure if this was a trick or not. Xena saw their apprehension in their eyes. She sighed, "or you can stay here and freeze to death, your choice." She smiled.

One Roman spoke up, "why should we trust you? The Romans hate you!"

Xena smiled and stuck her sword into the snow, completely unarmed. "I don't want to fight you anymore. I'm done fighting. I'm offering you asylum yet you want to stand here and fight. Interesting," she folded her arms.

Gabrielle sighed, "Xena wants to make the world a better and safer place. She doesn't hate Romans, she just hated...their leaders," she added though that didn't really make it sound any better. "Octavius raised the taxes in order to go to war with us. He put his entire empire into debt and for what? To get rid of  _her_?" she pointed to Xena. "She is giving you a chance to live and you would rather refuse and follow a dead man's words..."

Xena smirked at Gabrielle and her way with words. She was always more wise than she lead on to be. "Octavius has been trying to get rid of Xena for years and he failed every single time. This time, Xena is on your side. She wants to help you all," she smiled and saw Xena smirking at her. "Rome will be a better place now."

The Romans looked at one other and realized that even if they did fight Xena, they would lose in the end, whether it be now in these mountains or later in Rome. They had been trained to skill and trained to kill Xena and her Greek army, but now that Octavius was dead, they had no leader to fall back on. They lost.

Everyone sheathed their swords and Xena smiled at them all since they had come to their senses. Gabrielle came to her side and Xena wrapped her arm around her. "Philosophical bullshit," she whispered.

Gabrielle's eyes widened and looked at her in shock. "I haven't heard you say that in a long time..."

"It still works," Xena winked.

* * *

Solan and Samuel were fighting Romans until they saw the white flag on the Roman side being raised up by the Roman soldiers. Xena and Gabrielle were walking back towards them. Samuel put his hand up, "hold your fire," he said to his archers and they lowered their bows.

"How did she get them to surrender?" Solan asked and then saw the rest of the Romans stop fighting the Grecians.

Samuel smiled, "because she's Xena, that's how."

Xena and Gabrielle returned to the hillside and Solan and Samuel were waiting for them, with big grins on their faces. Xena smiled and took off the helmet. "We're going to escort them to Rome with us."

Solan blinked, "what, really?" he was shocked to hear that come out of his mother's mouth.

"Yes really," Gabrielle interrupted.

Samuel frowned, "what about Eve?"

Xena smirked at him, "I had a feeling you'd ask that." She sat down and drank some water, feeling completely drained. "You and Solan will go to Egypt to get her while me and Gabrielle go to Rome. Deal?" she winked at the king. Samuel's eyes lit up and Solan rolled his eyes shaking his head then left the area.

Gabrielle sat down next to Xena and held the helmet in her hands admiring it. "So does this mean I have to call you Empress of Rome now?" she teased.

"Gabrielle," Xena rolled her eyes, "don't be ridiculous."

"Yes whatever you say, my lord," Gabrielle jested more and chuckled. Xena nudged her in the ribs and she yelped. "Ouch, jeez..." she rubbed her side. "It was just a joke..."

Xena smiled, "what did I tell you about your jokes not being funny?" she said playfully.

* * *

A few days later Samuel and Solan arrived in Egypt and Samuel was dying to see Eve. Solan was growing so bored looking at the young king's face the entire trip. They were both tired and sore, yet none of that seemed to bother him at all.

Eve sat on the bed reading the book she found in the library last week. She was trying to translate the words as best as possible, but she ended up having to look most of them up. Her new feline pet was lounging on the bed with her. She hadn't gotten to get the cat away from her ever since she found him in the library. He was definitely her new best friend.

Hatima came in with a tray of tea and Eve lifted her head. She set the book aside and the queen smiled setting the tray on the bed, still wary of the cat. "He won't hurt you, he's nice," Eve leaned forward and pet his head gently. Hatima continued to ignore him and poured some sugar into her glass of hot tea.

"Well I'm glad you have someone to keep you company," Hatima smiled nervously as she sipped her tea. Eve grinned, nodding her head and then sipped the hot tea. She could never understand why these Egyptians drank such hot beverages in the middle of the desert, but it was quite good she did admit.

It had been raining for the last week and luckily it was not sunny outside like it normally was, lowering te temperature a bit. Eve looked out the window and saw it was evening now. She hadn't realized that she spent her entire day reading this book, but at least she had something to keep her busy.

She set the glass on the tray and sighed. Hatima lifted her eyes to see Eve adjusting her black dress and bringing her knees close to her so she could continue reading. "You seem to really enjoy that book," she commented.

Eve shrugged, "if I knew anything about alchemy it probably would be more interesting," she half smiled and opened the book to where she left off at.

A knock came to the door and Eve looked over the brim of the book and frowned. Hatima set the glass down and got up, "who is that?" she sat up and set the book aside. Nobody ever came to this room and if they did it was just the maids or Hatima, but they never knocked.

Hatima opened the door and her eyes widened seeing her son and Solan standing in front of her. Both had big grins on their faces. "Samuel!" she embraced him warmly and he was startled.

Eve heard Samuel's name and immediately she jumped out of bed and hurried to the door. Hatima smiled and pulled away from her son and Eve's face broke out into a big smile. Samuel looked at her with warm eyes and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

She pulled away then kissed his lips. Hatima's eyes widened and Solan sighed, leaning against the doorframe. Samuel brought Eve closer to him as much as he possibly could and Eve wrapped her arms around his neck.

"See, this is why I didn't want to come because I'd have to see  _this_..." Solan chuckled and tapped the door. The two were obviously completely oblivious to the others around them. "Okay, we get the idea," he said and tapped Samuel's shoulder. Eve pulled away, blushing a bit. "She's still my sister, you know."

Eve smiled nervously, brushing a tendril behind her ear. "Nice to see you too, Solan," she teased. She left Samuel's side and hugged her brother warmly.

"Oh so now you notice me?" Solan jested and kissed Eve's forehead. Eve punched her brother in the shoulder and he winced. "Jeez," he rubbed his shoulder, "just like mother," he mumbled.

"I thought you forgot about me!" Eve grabbed Samuel's hand smiling softly at him, staring in his green eyes, those that mirrored his mother's.

Samuel shrugged his shoulder, "it took longer than expected, but good news! We won finally!"

Eve grinned and looked to her brother and he nodded for confirmation. "Does that mean we're going home?" she hoped.

Solan pursed his lips, "well actually, we're going to Rome. Mother is moving the empire there."

Eve blinked, "Rome? Really?" that was shocking to hear. "Well," she sighed, "I'm just glad to get out of this place! It's awful! So hot and boring," she grinned. She felt her feline friend rub against her leg and Solan frowned. Samuel took a step back from the giant leopard. "Oh...yeah, I made a friend. I named him Assad." She smiled and bent down rubbing his ears. "Isn't he cute?"

Solan folded his arms, "yeah, real cute. I'm surprised he hasn't eaten you yet," he chuckled.

"Solan!" Eve grimaced. "I'd hate to leave him here," she sighed and Assad rubbed his body against her legs. "Do you think mother will mind if..."

"No way!" Solan protested.

"I have to agree with Solan on this. He can't come with us," Samuel shook his head.

Eve frowned, "why not? He obviously likes me and a desert isn't really a place for a cat like him," she smiled and heard Assad begin to purr loudly. "I don't think mother will mind, right?"

Solan slapped his forehead with his palm, "Eve, is this going to be like that one time you brought that stray wolf home?"

"That was different," Eve frowned, defending herself. "Assad is my friend. He likes me," she smiled.

"If mother asks," Solan sighed heavily, "I have nothing to do with it!" he held his hands up for surrender.

Eve broke out into a smile and Samuel folded his arms. "Are we really going to take that thing with us?"

"You got a problem with it?" Eve narrowed her eyes and he shook his head. "Good," she smiled.

* * *

Their trip was rather long because Solan suggested to get a caravan in Greece to travel to Rome so Eve didn't have to ride on a horse for such a long time. Hatima and Solan rode on horses in front of the caravan while Samuel stayed with Eve.

Samuel woke up and peeked through the curtains to see where they were. They were in the desert area of Greece, which meant they were close, well close enough. On the outskirts of Greece at least. He yawned and looked down to see Eve sleeping, resting her head on his lap, laying on her side. He couldn't believe that Eve wanted to take that giant leopard with them to Rome. He was sure that Xena was going to have a cow when she saw Assad. He was put in the back of the caravan where he casually lounged, enjoying the scenery the entire trip. He didn't even try to escape, not once, which Samuel thought was very odd for a cat. He must really like Eve he supposed.

He peered down and ran his fingers through Eve's long wavy hair. He sighed thinking that they had spent a month away from one another, it only seemed like yesterday since he had seen her. Though he was sure that she didn't feel the same way. She was probably bored out of her mind in Luxor. After all, she was stuck in the middle of the desert.

Eve shifted in her sleep and Samuel saw a frown appear on her face. She moved her leg closer to her body and grimaced trying to get comfortable. Opening her eyes she saw Samuel staring down at her. "By the gods, Samuel," she was startled and rubbed her eyes. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You were moving a lot," he smiled and she sighed then sat up, leaning her head against his shoulder. "You slept for awhile. Feel better?"

She yawned, "not really," she said sleepily. She then felt a stab in her side and she winced. He frowned seeing her distressed face.

"What's wrong?" he scanned her body yet saw nothing that would imply that she could be hurt in any way.

She shook her head, "nothing. These two make it hard for me to get comfortable in any position," she smiled weakly.

"Oh.." he smiled no longer feeling worried anymore. He placed his hand over her abdomen and felt a small kick against his palm and his smile widened. "I wish I could help you sleep better," he said.

Eve smiled, "me too," she joked then rest her head against his chest, exhaling slowly. Closing her eyes she began to fall asleep again until she felt a swift kick to her ribs and she groaned. She opened her eyes and looked up at Samuel and his smug smile planted on his face. She smirked and rested her head back onto his chest again to try and sleep a little while longer.

* * *

A few days after Samuel and Solan left for Egypt, Xena and Gabrielle gathered up everyone in the mountains and set out on their trek to Rome. Gabrielle and Xena lead the way with the Romans wedged in between a group of Greek and Persian soldiers, just in case. Even though Xena was allowing them their freedom she still didn't trust them completely because of their lack of confidence in her as their new ruler.

Xena realized that a female ruler was odd to the Romans, especially a female that they all absolutely hate and have despised for decades. Everyone in Rome knew who Xena was and she had made her presence there well known over the last thirty years and she always told them that she would be back. She would never leave Rome because it would always be a major problem for her until their leader was wiped off the face of the earth. Now that Octavius was dead, Xena was unsure how the Romans' reactions will be like when she and her entire army come casually waltzing into the city.

Gabrielle rode beside Xena on her own horse. She couldn't seem to understand why Xena was so silent more than half the trip from Thrace to Rome. She knew that Xena must feel a bit displaced, or perhaps she was so overjoyed that she was speechless, but that didn't seem like the right answer because even though Octavius was dead, Xena still had to deal with the people of Rome. They had been governed by a line of Caesars for more than three decades and it was going to be a shock that that line was now destroyed and eliminated. But as Gabrielle knew, there would be other leaders besides the line of Julius Caesar.

Looking back she saw Ptolemy sitting on a horse and riding in the middle of the Romans. He looked rather displaced. Xena didn't get a chance to use the king for bait like she hoped. Octavius was a major distraction and it wasn't like he was a threat to Octavius –his biggest threat was Xena at the time.

"Xena," Gabrielle cleared her throat and the empress turned her head slowly towards her. She sighed, "what are we going to do with Ptolemy?" she thumbed behind her.

Xena peered over her shoulder and saw the king looking solemn on the horse. She smirked and turned back to her blonde consort. "I have a special job for our little Caesar," she narrowed her eyes.

Gabrielle creased her brows not sure what she meant by that. "What exactly does that mean?"

"You'll see Gabrielle. Let's just get there first, okay?" she smiled and trotted on faster.

* * *

Midday Xena saw the Roman square and she exhaled heavily. She was a bit nervous coming into this land once more but this time it wasn't on business. She could already feel the glare of the Roman people before she even stepped into the square. She felt a hand grab hers and she turned to see Gabrielle smiling at her.

"I'm here with you," she smiled. "Always."

Xena grinned in return, " _always_ ," she squeezed Gabrielle's hand tightly then rode into the city.

The Romans saw the gates open and they were expecting to see the emperor ride in with victorious news but instead they saw the Greek Empress trotting in with her army behind her as well as the Roman army. They were confused when they didn't see Octavius at all. They had fearful eyes and backed away from her as she made her way through the sea of people.

Xena saw many different expressions in the crowd. Some confused, others angry and many afraid. This was only the calm before the storm. They were just in shock that their deceased emperor didn't grace his presence in the city. Instead, they saw her and they didn't know why she was here.

Even though Xena had changed her tyrannical ways, Gabrielle saw fear in children's and adult's eyes. They only saw her when she had business in Rome and that always almost never a good thing. She hoped that there wouldn't be an uproar once Xena claimed Rome for herself. She had been waiting for this moment for decades and she knew that the Roman people were not going to be happy about it.

Xena dismounted her horse and a few soldiers came up behind her, making sure nobody would attack her. Although the sea of people dispersed and made a pathway for her to pass to the massive fortress ahead. It was eerily quiet and she didn't like that. She pulled out Octavius' helmet from the bag hanging around her shoulder.

She turned around to face the people of Rome and held the helmet high in the air. All eyes traveled to the helmet with gaped mouths. "Your emperor was unable to fulfill his duties of defeating me," her voice carried and it was silent. She placed the helmet on staircase rail's end post. "Due to his incompetence, I am staking my claim as Empress of Rome."

Now there was chatter in the crowd but still nobody rebelled, not yet. Her eyes surveyed the crowd and saw many confused and upset faces. "Octavius," she began, "has put your entire empire into a considerable amount of debt for this war. He has left you all jobless and in poverty all because he wanted to kill me and my people."

It was still silent and she was surprised that they were actually listening to her. She looked to Gabrielle and saw her nod her head. Xena smiled weakly and decided to keep going. "As your new empress, I will eliminate your debt with my treasury in Athens and hopefully be able to bring peace...to both empires..." she looked around and saw more confusion and concern than anger now. "There will be no Roman or Greek empire anymore," she breathed out heavily and began fidgeting with her fingers behind her back, becoming nervous. "From now on, this will be known as the Empire of the West and East, a meeting of both worlds. Rome will be city of prosperity and wealth as it should have been long ago."

"How can we trust you?" a bystander said aloud and others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yeah, Rome has despised you for years! You destroyed our city once years ago!"

Others began talking among themselves and Xena sighed, putting her hands on her hips. Gabrielle saw the look in her eyes and smiled at her, trying to give her comfort from afar. Xena removed her hands off her hips, refraining from looking menacing and intimidating in front of these people.

"This is true. I won't lie about that, but it was Octavius who destroyed your city not  _me_. He wanted to go to war with me even though I offered a peace treaty. He refused my treaties for years. My loss made me go into seclusion in Egypt for quite some time..." she admitted sadly. The more she said that, the more it made her sound cowardly.

"And if someone else rivals you then will you abandon us too?!" another man shouted and now there was a loud uproar and Xena frowned.

The chatter continued and then Xena raised her voice. "Enough!" she yelled and everyone stopped talking. "I left my empire but I did not let my people suffer in my absence. Octavius destroyed my home and my city a little more than a month ago. He committed an illegal act of war against me, provoking me to fight  _him_." She looked around and saw some realization hit some of the Romans. "I've tried to reason with the Romans for more than twenty years and he continually denied me! He denied you all peace and prosperity." She saw the Roman flags waving in the air along the posts of the palace.

She ripped the flags off their poles and tore them to shreds. Everyone gasped and she then broke the poles in half, snapping them against her knee. "It is  _him_  who has deceived you all! I am not your enemy...not anymore.." she held her breath and Gabrielle smiled warmly at her from afar, giving her a thumbs up. She must not have been doing so badly if nobody tried to attack her yet.

"You all are not Romans, you are all just humans, like me. We're all the same. I was told this by a young Persian King that I have become allies with," she smiled slightly. "There is no need for borders and warring empires anymore." She looked around and sighed heavily. "If you all give me a chance as your empress, I promise that there will be peace across the Mediterranean. We can all work together...to become an empire that will set an example for the rest of the world –two worlds that can coexist peacefully."

The Roman people seemed skeptical but they listened to what Xena had to say. There was a bit of discrepancy at first, but now they seemed to realize that Xena was not the tyrant that their late emperor had made her out to be. If everything she said was true, then they were more than willing to give her a chance especially if it meant that their people would not live in poverty anymore. And if Xena was here and there was no Roman empire opposing anyone then there will most likely be no more war in the future. On the other hand, she could become like any other emperor and fill her heart with greed, but she had been an empress for a very long time and her empire was well off, more wealthy than the Roman Empire for sure especially these days.

Some people started clapping and then others joined in and Xena smiled widely, enjoying all of the happy and joyful faces she was seeing now. She looked to Gabrielle in the crowd and smiled at her. Was it true? Was she finally able to bring peace among both empires? Empires no more, the Roman Empire was gone.

* * *

Gabrielle released the Roman soldiers and granted their freedom. They were no longer soldiers anymore and could do as they please. She was sure that they had families to go to and haven't seen in months or even years in some cases. They had been soldiers all their lives and they were ecstatic to be free from their chains of war.

She climbed the massive amount of stairs into Octavius' palace which was in the outskirts of the city, but it was very noticeable when you entered the city. It was huge, though not as large as the palace in Athens. She traveled through the palace and it sure brought back some memories. She had only been in here for a few times but she was sure Xena had been here plenty of times, especially when Julius Caesar was alive.

Rounding a corner she found Xena in a large room, obviously made for meetings and parties. "I've freed all of the Romans," she said and Xena nodded, remaining silent. Coming to her side she gripped her hand. "That was brave of you. I'm proud of you."

Xena smiled, peering down at Gabrielle. "Thank you Gabrielle. I wouldn't be here without your help and guidance." She sighed and placed her hands on her shoulders. "You changed me Gabrielle –for the better. You have shown me a way that I would have never found if I didn't...find  _you_ ," she grinned weakly. "You made me a better person and all of this..." she gestured to the Roman palace they were standing in, "is as much yours as it is mine. You're the best thing in my life."

"You've taught me many things over these years, Xena." She began with a sly grin, "and even with your setbacks and odd quirks," she chuckled softly, "I haven't figured you out completely, but I will eventually." She saw the warmth in Xena's eyes and she blushed a bit. "You taught me how to forgive."

Xena frowned, cocking her head to the side, unsure what she meant by that. Xena was not known as a forgiving person in her past and even now, it was difficult for her. Gabrielle saw her confusion and grinned. "Without you in my life, I would have remained bitter for the rest of my life. I thought that if I couldn't forgive you and your past then...I could never forgive anyone and I would be a hateful person –filled with vengeance." She looked into those icy blue eyes. "You gave me hope that even the worst people can change and without  _you_ , I don't know what I'd do." She rubbed her forehead feeling nervous all of a sudden. "So you see, without you, I wouldn't be the person I am today and you shouldn't blame yourself for everything. You affected me as much as I affected you and I think, you made a bigger impact on me than I did on you," she winked subtly.

Xena felt her heart stop as soon as Gabrielle said that. She always knew that Gabrielle loved her deeply, but she never told her how she felt and she thought that this was all one sided, even after twenty plus years. It wasn't just her, it was both of them.

"Now the question is; can you forgive yourself?" Gabrielle said seriously and Xena's eyes dropped to the floor.

"I think..." Xena began and lifted her head, "I will have to continue to redeem myself even in death," she smiled weakly.

Gabrielle frowned, "that's not what I asked, Xena."

"The simple answer is...no," Xena said softly. "I don't deserve forgiveness especially my own. You saw me Gabrielle, I was a terrible person. There are even some things that you don't know about me...they are unforgiveable."

Gabrielle smiled and grazed her hand against Xena's cheeks. She saw her eyes fill with tears, begging to fall. "You've come a long way from that life Xena. You've spent more than half your life as a good person, a person working for the greater good. You're not a conqueror or the destroyer of nations like you once were. You are who you are. You can't erase your past and you shouldn't forget it either –it's a part of you just as much as the present and future are." She looked in her eyes and smiled, "so do me a favor...and give yourself a break," she nudged her shoulder playfully and Xena finally cracked a smile.

"Knock, knock, guess who I brought back with me?" Solan smiled interrupting their time alone. Xena and Gabrielle turned around and saw Solan leaning on the wall casually.

"Solan!" Gabrielle smiled and ran to hug him tightly. "I was wondering where you were," she looked into his blue eyes and ruffled his hair like a child. Solan groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. She was worse than mother sometimes, he thought.

"Yeah well, we kind of took the long route. I decided to get a caravan so Eve didn't have to ride the entire way back," he smirked and saw his mother standing there looking rather relieved? He wasn't sure, he couldn't exactly read her emotions.

Xena came to him and embraced him warmly. He returned the hug and squeezed her body close to his. She pulled away and looked behind him, hoping to see Eve behind him. "Where is she?" she frowned.

"Oh she's with Queen Hatun while Samuel is unloading her chest of clothes. She didn't really  _enjoy_  the ride here let's just leave it at that," he cringed and walked off. Xena and Gabrielle shared a glance then followed Solan as he casually strolled down the long hallway.

All three came to a halt and Solan pointed to the bathroom and they heard Eve retching and coughing loudly. Gabrielle's eyes widened and Xena buried her face in her hands. The two women brushed passed him and he sighed, hearing his sister basically coughing up her own lungs. She had been doing that for the last few hours and he was glad that she had more help. He was sure that Samuel's mother was tired enough from the journey to deal with Eve was just another burden.

Xena and Gabrielle entered the large bathroom and saw Eve on the floor with Hatima knelt down beside her. Hatima looked up as she rubbed Eve's back. She smiled seeing Xena and Gabrielle. Silently she stood up and took a step back. Xena smiled and knelt beside her daughter. She placed her hand on her shoulder and Eve was completely oblivious to her presence. Gabrielle smirked folding her arms as she stood by Hatima.

"Not feeling too good are you?" Xena said and immediately Eve lifted her head and looked to see it was her mother smiling at her. Eve wrapped her arms around her neck and hugged her tightly.

"Mother..." she never thought she'd be so happy to see her until now. She pulled away and then saw her mother's long hair was gone and her jaw dropped. She touched her mother's hair in between her fingers and saw the smile on her mother's face. "You..cut...your  _hair_?" she raised an eyebrow.

Xena sighed, "not exactly, but never mind that," she shook head and moved a few tendrils away from Eve's face and brushed them behind her ear. "I heard that your journey here wasn't the best to put it lightly," she smirked.

Eve cringed and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it." she began to get up and Xena assisted her.

She linked arms with her daughter, "I'm glad to have you back here with us," she said and Eve smiled softly.

"Me too. I thought you forgot about me!" she joked and Xena chuckled softly.

"I could never forget about you." They came into the hallway and she sighed looking around. "I'm sure we can find a room for you somewhere," she teased, knowing full well that this palace had more than enough rooms.

Eve looked around then saw Gabrielle come to her side, linking her arm with hers. "Gabrielle!" she grinned and the blonde winked at her. "So...are we going to live here now?"

Xena opened a door and saw a really large bedroom, probably for a guest as it wasn't entirely decorated like the others were. "I'll be making a lot of changes to this place, but the answer is yes." She set Eve down on the bed and Gabrielle hopped onto the bed sitting beside Eve. Xena opened the curtains to let some sunlight in and she saw a Roman bust of Octavius in the room. Frowning she picked up the bust and threw it out the window. There was a loud shattering sound from down below.

Eve and Gabrielle turned around and blinked. Xena turned around with a playful smile. "What was that?" Gabrielle asked.

"Some garbage," Xena said with a smug grin and waltzed away from the windows.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes then paid more attention to Eve. She grabbed her hand and the princess looked into her eyes. "So, how are you feeling?"

Eve gave her an incredulous look and frowned, " _really_?" She said flatly. "I was fine for the first couple of days but then..." she made a face of disgust. "Like I said, I don't want to talk about it." she shook her head.

"It's okay we don't have to talk about it," Gabrielle dismissed it and then placed her hand on Eve's abdomen and instantly grinned with excitement as she felt small movements against her palm. "They are already great warriors!" she joked.

Xena shot her a glare of disapproval. "Gabrielle..." she chastised.

Gabrielle grinned sheepishly, "warriors...of peace?" she lamely said and Xena smirked enjoying the joy in Gabrielle's eyes, although Eve didn't seem to share the joy at all.

"Maybe we should let Eve rest, she's had a long journey," Xena said and Eve pouted.

"No, I want to hear about the battle," she smiled and leaned against the pillows. Xena rolled her eyes and Gabrielle scooted closer to Eve.

"I will tell her, you can go Xena, I can stay with her," she said and Xena didn't seem convinced. "Go, go. Both of you!" she shooed Hatima and Xena out of the room.

Xena smiled putting her hands up, "alright but I'll be back in a few hours," she turned to leave behind Hatima then stopped. "Gabrielle could you leave the...gory details out?" she frowned.

"Sure thing Xena," Gabrielle smiled. "Now go!" she demanded and Xena sighed, closing the door.

Eve smiled and turned to Gabrielle, crossing her legs in front of her. "I want to know all the details!"

Gabrielle nodded, "right, but don't tell Xena," she winked and Eve smiled and winked back at her. "Okay so..." she began all the way from the beginning after Eve and Xena left for Luxor and when she returned to Athens.

* * *

Xena sighed and turned to Hatima, "thank you for staying with her. I don't know how to repay you..."

Hatima smiled, "you don't need to do that. I was more than happy to help and Eve is a very smart young lady. She found a library in the palace and read a lot before we left Luxor." Xena was surprised at that, although she knew that Gabrielle had been rather influential on Eve's education all her life and Eve enjoyed reading as much as she did. Xena could care less about reading, but that something special between Eve and Gabrielle, something that she'd never take away from them. She thought that was good that Eve was able to occupy herself in reading and learning even thousands of miles away from home.

"Xena! So nice to see you again," Samuel came up with a chest of clothes and dropped it on the floor breathing heavily. "It seems that Eve did some shopping in Luxor. She has a lot of clothing..." he sighed and Xena smirked.

The empress looked behind the king and saw Solan and a giant black leopard walking beside him on a leash. "What is  _that_?" she pointed at the cat.

Samuel and Hatima turned, they both immediately cringed when they saw the large cat walking beside Solan.

Solan laughed nervously, "oh this guy? You're going to love this when you hear it!" he saw his mother's wide and irate eyes. He cleared his throat and his laughter died down. "Eve wanted to bring him with her from Egypt. He's kind of...her pet."

Xena shook her head, "no! Absolutely not! Get that...cat out of here," she folded her arms.

Samuel sighed, "we tried to tell her that she couldn't bring him with us but she refused to leave him behind."

Solan nodded, "he really likes her a lot. His name is Assad." There was silence and Hatima looked to Xena and saw that she did not approve. "She will be really upset if you get rid of him..."

Xena rolled her eyes and buried her face in her hands. She was beginning to think that white streak in her hair was caused by Eve and not by that stupid elixir she took months ago. She groaned, "just...put him in a room or something for now. I'm going to have a talk with the princess about bringing animals home,  _again_.."

"This has happened before?" Hatima blinked.

Xena laughed aloud, "more times than you know," she said flatly.

* * *

Hours later after surveying the entire fortress Xena was exhausted. She never thought she'd be this tired but she had been going nonstop for months now and she really felt like she needed to sleep. She wished she could sleep for years.

She decided to check up on Eve and Gabrielle like she promised. Samuel and Solan were up late playing a game, obviously even after their long journey they still had energy. Must be nice, she thought. Hatima found a vacant room and retired super early after visiting with her son for awhile.

Xena opened the door and saw Eve and Gabrielle sleeping on the bed together. Eve was on her side and Gabrielle close to Eve, sleeping in the same direction. She smiled softly at the two and closed the door.


	32. Chapter 32

**AN: this chapter is incredibly long but has a lot of stuff in it! Some humor and more adventures later :D**

Chapter 32 – _Part V of V: Empress of Rome_

A week passed by and Xena didn't really like the look of the inside of the palace. She wanted everything cleared out immediately and so over the next week she had many of her men moving furniture, statues and tapestries out of the Roman fortress. She didn't want any trace of Octavius in this place anymore. She said that there was no Roman Empire anymore and she was going to make sure that it stayed that way.

Although, she didn't want certain things to go to waste. She suggested that the furniture be taken to the market square for civilians to take for their own homes. But the statues of Roman gods and tapestries were burned. Xena would never keep statues of gods or goddesses whether they were Greek or Roman, she didn't care. They were all the same to her and the eerie quietness of the Olympians was unsettling to say the least. She hadn't heard anything from Ares or his sister, Eris, in awhile and she liked to keep it that way, although Eve would deliver soon and that only made Xena worry more, afraid that Eris might do something stupid and irrational. She kept the bit of Eris from Eve as she didn't want to worry her daughter anymore than she needed. She didn't need that right now, but it never left her mind. Also another reason why she decided to leave Eve in Luxor instead of Greece without supervision.

The palace was completely bare now except for the essentials. Xena tore up one of the bedrooms she found to stay in. she certainly wasn't going to stay in Octavius' room. No she would use that room for something else, definitely not to sleep in. this room she found was bigger, nicer and in a quiet part of the fortress away from prying eyes.

Gabrielle slept beside Xena and the sun began to rise in the sky. Winters in Rome were always much colder than the winters in Athens. There was a considerable amount of snow and it snowed a lot during the daytime and less at night, but of course that made all the rooms much colder if there was not a fireplace inside it.

She stirred in her sleep and felt something tickling her foot and she giggled. "Xena what are you doing?" she mumbled and moved her foot but she kept laughing. She felt the blankets slowly slip off her body and she scooted closer to Xena's warm body.

Xena opened her eyes and frowned, looking behind her to see why Gabrielle was giggling so much. She saw Assad, Eve's pet leopard grabbing the blankets off the bed and licking Gabrielle's legs and feet. "Gabrielle..." she said sleepily and covered herself with the blankets some more and saw that the cat wasn't stopping. He ripped the blanket off the bed and Gabrielle's eyes opened feeling the cold air touch her bare legs.

The blonde looked at the foot of the bed and saw Assad sitting at the end of the bed. She yelped and sat up bringing her legs close to her chest. "Gods, I hate that cat!" she grumbled and Xena chuckled softly, still covered in another blanket.

"He obviously likes you," Xena sighed and closed her eyes to go back to sleep for a little while longer.

Gabrielle was having a staring contest with Assad and the cat yawned then laid down comfortably, swishing his tail back and forth lazily. "I can't believe you allowed Eve to keep him..." she complained.

"He's not so bad," Xena said softly and Gabrielle's mouth gaped then she felt a punch in her shoulder and Xena's eyes opened and she turned, glaring at Gabrielle. "What did you do that for?"

Gabrielle smirked, "you don't like cats, Xena and now you're saying he's 'not that bad'?" she shook her head.

Xena rolled her eyes, "I didn't say I liked him...I just said he wasn't that bad." She turned over and rested her head on the pillow once more. "He's a good guard cat," she smirked and Gabrielle ripped off the blanket. "Gabrielle!" she sat up and the blonde chuckled softly covering herself from the crisp cold air filtering in the room.

"Assad can be your blanket since you like him so much!" Gabrielle laid down and snuggled up in the blanket.

Xena groaned and stared at the feline. He yawned and stared at her blinking his golden eyes. "Don't look at me like that." She said aloud and Assad continued staring at her. "Yeah I don't like you either," she got out of bed and grabbed her clothes to get dressed. It was obvious that her sleep time was over.

After she put on a black gown with long sleeves she sighed staring at Gabrielle as she was still in bed. She came to the other side and knelt down patting her cheek. "Come on sleepy, we have work to do."

Gabrielle groaned and pulled the covers over her face. "I'm on vacation, come back when there's another war."

Xena sighed and folded her arms then stared at Assad and he was eyeing Gabrielle. She smirked and snapped her fingers, calling the feline to her aid. Assad stood up and gingerly sauntered over to Gabrielle and pulled the covers off of her then hopped off the bed.

Gabrielle brought her legs close to her and glared at Xena. "I hate you." She teased.

"Love you too, Gabrielle," Xena smirked and walked off. "I'll be waiting for you in the atrium," she left the room.

Gabrielle grabbed the blanket off the floor and covered herself with it. Smiling she closed her eyes and thought she could sleep a little while longer. Assad ripped the blanket off and she groaned, glaring at the cat and he licked his lips staring at her. "Did Xena put you up to this?" she questioned the cat and he just sat there staring at her, not blinking at all. She reached for the blanket slowly and Assad picked up the blanket in his mouth and walked off with it throwing it on a chair. Her jaw dropped and thought what a smart but stubborn animal.

He then jumped on the bed and began nudging her shoulder but she wasn't moving. "I'm not getting out of bed," she argued. Then he used his paw and pushed her off the bed and laid down in her spot comfortably. She huffed and shot the cat a glare. "I know you're secretly working for her..." she smirked then realized she sounded crazy. "I'm talking to a cat," she frowned and got off the floor to get dressed reluctantly. "I'm watching you," she eyed him and he rolled over purring loudly, "that cute stuff may work on Eve but it's not going to work on me."

* * *

Down the hall in the room where Eve and Samuel stayed in Eve was sound asleep until she felt a cold wisp of air graze her skin. Her arm reached for Samuel but the spot next to her was empty. She opened her eyes and looked around, sitting up on her elbow she saw Samuel was sitting next to the window in a chair with the curtains drawn.

"What are you doing?" she yawned and he turned around smiling at her.

"Just reading some books I found in your chest of clothes." He lifted the book and she smiled. "Alchemy huh? Not really your style you know," he chuckled and set the book down coming to sit on the bed with her. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "You slept for a long time. Hopefully you slept...well?"

She shrugged, "I guess. This place gets some taking used to, you know. It's not like Athens," she scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"It's kind of similar..." he said and she shot him a glare. "I mean, the architecture is similar –big columns and large entry ways, not to mention everything is marble."

Eve scoffed, "Romans steal everything from the Greeks."

He nodded playfully going along with her. "We have similar buildings in Persia –the Greek style, I mean."

"Of course because my mother used to own Persia," she joked, although it definitely wasn't a joke. She knew her mother had ties with Persia long ago and it was brutally cut off until this year. She toyed with the laces on his black tunic and felt him bring her closer to him. She felt a stabbing pain in her side and she hissed.

Samuel frowned and looked down at her seeing the distressed look on her face. "Something wrong?" he asked concerned. She nodded and rested her head against his chest. "Are you sure?" he asked again.

"Yes I'm fine," she smiled up at him reassuring him.

"You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?" he stared at her seriously and she nodded though he wasn't entirely convinced. He realized that since he has spent time with her, Eve liked to downplay a lot of her discomfort, which reminded him of Solan and even Xena sometimes. They were good at keeping secrets hidden away, which he was not used to.

Peering down at his children, their children, inside her and he grinned softly, placing his hand over them both. "So, when do you think they will come?"

She sighed heavily, "hopefully soon because honestly, I am sick and tired, literally," she smirked.

He frowned, "you feel sick  _now_?" he started to get up and she clung to his shirt.

"No, no I'm fine right now," she smiled and he settled down again against the pillows. "You think it will be two boys?" she peered up at him.

Samuel quirked his mouth, "hopefully. God forbid we have girls," he chuckled and she punched his shoulder and he winced, rubbing his shoulder.

"What's wrong with girls?" she frowned.

"Nothing, but that means they'll be just like you sooo..." he teased her and Eve rolled her eyes shaking her head at his subtle jokes. "It doesn't matter if they're boys or girls, I'll love them either way," he grinned and she smiled, yawning, still quite tired.

Suddenly there was a loud crash outside of the room and Eve lifted her head, tempted to get out of bed. Samuel got up and told her to stay put. He tread cautiously and opened the door to see an entire set of statues were smashed on the marble floor.

"What in God's name..." he muttered then saw Solan arguing with Gabrielle. He closed the door and walked up to them. "What's going on?"

Gabrielle huffed folding her arms, "nothing," she mumbled then smiled at Samuel. "How is Eve?"

The Persian raised an eyebrow, "she's good, in bed still," he shook his head. "Why...why are there broken statues everywhere?" he pointed at the floor.

Solan's eyes wandered around elsewhere, "I don't know why don't you ask Gabrielle!" he frowned.

"This was your responsibility Solan!" she argued back and he groaned. "You were supposed to take these statues outside but you can't even do that."

The blonde prince scoffed, "you know what I am –"

Xena frowned and saw the small party of three in the middle of the hallway. "What happened here?" she put her hands on her hips and they all stopped and stared at her with wide eyes. She looked down and saw the broken statues on the floor. "Solan, what's this?" she eyed him.

Gabrielle folded her arms and smirked, giving him a knowing look of satisfaction. Solan rolled his eyes and clamped his hands together looking apologetic towards his mother. "I was taking them outside but... _someone_ ," he eyed Gabrielle, "told me to take them to the back entrance instead and they all fell...down."

Xena nodded not entirely understanding how four statues broke the way they did, "clean this up," she grabbed Gabrielle's arm, "I need to borrow you," she drug her along and Gabrielle looked back and winked at Solan. He groaned and looked at the mess he had to clean up.

Samuel smiled, "I'll help you," he offered. Solan relented and took him up on his offer. Both bent down and began picking up the large pieces of the broken statues. "We should play a game when you have time..." he smiled mischievously.

Solan looked up at him with a knowing smile, "sure, what did you have in mind?"

The Persian grinned sneakily, "we could play jenga again? Eve can play with us, I know she's been bored staying in her room all the time."

He nodded, "yeah I'm sure she's going crazy. She never likes to stay in one place for a long time, but..." he frowned, "we're not playing jenga if Eve is playing," he set some ground rules.

Samuel chuckled, "afraid you'll lose again?"

"Yes! Why don't we let her pick the game?" Solan grinned. "But no chess," he demanded. Samuel nodded, stifling a laugh. Solan really hated playing chess with Eve because he always lost.

* * *

Xena came to the highest balcony in the palace and Gabrielle overlooked the city. It was a beautiful view and it was actually nice to see people out and about unlike the palace in Athens. Xena's previous home overlooked the sea, which was nice, but it was secluded from civilization. Gabrielle began to think that was because of all the death threats that Xena got many years ago. It was quite a journey to get to her palace and the trail was difficult not to mention guards were everywhere. It was different in Rome, everything was more open, their ruler was close by which was a new thing to get used to.

"I know I said that this is no longer the Roman Empire but it is still an empire and..." Xena looked to the people below them. "We still need a coronation ceremony."

Gabrielle smiled smugly, "can I pick out your dress?"

"Gabrielle, no." Xena sighed.

"Please? You always pick black or some dark color!  _Please_ , Xena?" she begged and Xena sighed, relenting. "Yes, finally I get to pick your clothes!" she tried to hide her excitement once she saw Xena's blank face. "Too much?" she sheepishly smiled.

Xena rubbed her forehead and then tapped her fingernails on the railing. "I actually didn't ask you to come out here to help me pick out dresses..." she began. "I wanted to make a new flag. I can't use my own flag because I said this would be a coexistence of two empires."

Gabrielle nodded and rubbed her chin then trailed back inside, trying to find out what Xena could use for a new flag. She had always used the Greek eye as her flag or a giant X to represent herself, but now those were not important anymore and neither was the Roman's flag either.

She took a good look around the empty room they were in. Xena really excavated this palace and in a hurry too. It was obvious she didn't want anything Roman left behind in this place. Immediately Gabrielle thought of Athens and what she could use that would satisfy Xena's vision and the Roman people's at the same time.

The vision of the statue of Lady Justitia came to her mind. There was a statue of her in the middle of the square of Athens. Xena was never one to showcase statues of deities but Lady Justitia, she had a special place for her. Gabrielle snapped her fingers and Xena eyed her carefully.

"A balance scale!" she blurted out.

Xena raised a confused eyebrow, not entirely understanding. "I'm not following."

Gabrielle grabbed Xena's arms and squeezed them tightly, "the statue of Lady Justitia in Athens –she holds a balance scale in her hand. We could use that symbol on the new flag. It's perfect!" she beamed and Xena thought about it for a few moments.

"It's not a bad idea," Xena quirked her mouth to the side.

Gabrielle bobbed her head, "the scale represents equality –something that you've always wanted!" she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Xena smiled and brought her in close to her and Gabrielle could barely breathe.

"See, this is why I have you here with me, Gabrielle!" Xena smiled and Gabrielle pulled away from the tight embrace. "Sorry..." she subtly apologized.

They linked arms and Gabrielle leaned into her, "so, when are we having this ceremony? I can do all the preparations."

Xena sneered, "oh so  _kind_  of you Gabrielle," she said sarcastically. The blonde pouted and pinched Xena's arm. The empress then winced and rubbed her arm. "Why do you keep hurting me?!" she whined.

"Because I can," Gabrielle chuckled then began, "so I think we should have everything finished in a month. How does that sound?" she glanced up at her and obviously Xena was still slightly annoyed.

She sighed, "if anyone can make that happen, it's you," she smiled finally.

"Such little faith you have in me!" Gabrielle teased and she received a punch in the shoulder. "Ow!" she frowned and rubbed her shoulder and Xena chuckled lowly. "I pinched you! You...you  _punched_  me and Xena..." she groaned, "your punches hurt so much more than a stupid little pinch to the arm..."

Xena smirked, "that's for this morning in bed."

* * *

Later in the early evening Xena found herself so busy with Gabrielle going over plans and reorganizing this entire palace that she didn't really even check on Eve all day. She figured that Samuel had handled that well but it was obvious that not even he could keep her entertained for long. He seemed restless and looked really tired lately, though, everyone was tired. Hatima offered to help her son but he refused her, and kept telling her that he could handle everything on his own.

Xena told Gabrielle that she was going to check on Eve and then come back to the bedroom to keep working on the flag design and ceremony together. She walked down the candle-lit hallway and saw Samuel heading the same way as her carrying a glass of something unrecognizable from afar.

"Samuel," she called out as he was about to open the door. He stopped and smiled tiredly at her. "What's that you have?" she gestured to the glass.

He looked to the glass and realized that this might seem kind of odd. "It's kefir," he said and Xena stared at him blankly. "It's a yogurt –"

She stopped him, "I know what it is," she smiled softly, "but  _why_  do you have it?" she eyed him and he lowered his eyes. "Is it for Eve?" she smiled leaning in closer and he nodded, saying nothing at all. He slipped the glass out from his hold, "I can stay with her for awhile."

He sighed, "I promised I would stay with her and –"

Xena grinned, "and you have done a great job at keeping your promise but I can stay with her now. You look tired. Solan is in the atrium, you should go join him."

Samuel looked to the atrium then to the door, not really knowing which was the best decision. Xena saw the distress in his green eyes. "I can take care of her, just go," she said and he thought about it for a moment longer. "I'm  _ordering_  you to go," she teased. He half smiled at her and definitely didn't want to argue with her, though he knew he'd lose. He thanked her and went to find Solan in the atrium like she said he was.

Xena opened the door and saw Eve laying on her side and her cheeks were rather pale. Eve lifted her head and expected to see Samuel but was a bit surprised to see her mother. Xena smiled and set the glass of kefir on the table. "He brought this for you," she sat on the edge of the bed. She didn't seem that interested and Xena checked Eve's forehead but she felt fine. Obviously she wasn't, but at least she wasn't running a fever like last time.

"I know this is difficult for you, but I promise the hardest part is almost over!" Xena said with a hopeful smile and Eve just stared at her unconvinced.

"No offense mother but you're not the greatest at making someone feel better," Eve sighed and tucked the blanket under her chin.

Xena chuckled softly, "I'll make sure to work on it," she pat Eve's hip gently and she shifted slightly.

"I feel like shit," Eve said and Xena widened her eyes. "Sorry..." she mumbled seeing the shock in her mother's eyes at her choice of language. "Where did Samuel go?" she wondered.

"Don't worry about him. I'm going to stay with you," she smiled.

Eve sighed, "oh boy..." she muttered. "You don't have to stay with me, mother. I'll be fine by myself."

"No I want to be with you," she now laid down in the empty spot next to her leaning against the pillows. Eve looked up at her and it was very quiet between the two. "You should come with me and Gabrielle into the city tomorrow."

That seemed to perk Eve's interests. "What are you going to do there?"

"We're going to pick out some fabric for my dress..." Xena sighed, "Gabrielle wants to be in charge of everything, even my clothes."

Eve smiled finally, "as usual."

"We can pick out some fabric for you too," Xena said and Eve's eyes lit up. She always liked clothes, she seemed to get that from Gabrielle. "And the twins too," she added. Eve smiled at that and nodded her head in agreement. "You know, Gabrielle had some clothes already made for them but I'm afraid that were left in the palace in Athens."

Eve frowned, "oh, that was nice of her to do that." She sighed thinking of their home in Athens. "I miss our home."

Xena could felt the same way and kissed her forehead, "I know, me too. This is our home now. Perhaps in the future we can rebuild in Athens," she said hopefully and Eve liked that idea, but Rome wasn't so bad. It was better than Egypt at least.

Eve yawned, "that sounds nice," she closed her eyes and Xena smiled laying beside her.

* * *

The following morning Gabrielle did not expect Xena to stay with Eve for so long since she didn't come back last night. She didn't feel the need to check up on them both but they had things to do today and she was dying to go get fabric. Xena was going to hate every color she picked out but that was the fun of it all.

Gabrielle walked down the hall and opened the door to Eve's bedroom and saw Xena asleep with Eve on the bed together. Both of them were obviously exhausted. She smiled and hated to wake them both but she had to. She went to Xena and shook her shoulder gently.

Xena opened her eyes and saw Gabrielle staring down at her. "Gabrielle..." she said groggily and looked over at Eve who was still sleeping. "I didn't expect to fall asleep here..."

"You two must have had a wild night," she joked. Xena rolled her eyes at her and then stared over at Eve. She touched her shoulder.

"Eve..." she whispered and the princess stirred in her sleep. "Don't you want to come with us to pick out fabric?" she said and Eve's eyes fluttered open. She didn't exactly expect to see Gabrielle standing beside her mother. Eve sat up with a big smile, eager to get out of this place even if it was just to pick out some fabric.

* * *

Mid-morning Xena, Gabrielle and Eve rode together on horses into the city. Eve wore a large black cloak, matching her mother's and Gabrielle wore a white cloak. There was a light sprinkle of snow falling as they made their way into the city. Eve smiled at everyone and everything surrounding her. She hadn't been outside in awhile and it was nice to see people again.

"We should stop here," Xena said and dismounted her horse. Gabrielle did as well and tied all the horses to a post. The merchant with fabric wasn't very far from this spot which was good. Xena went to Eve and helped her off the horse and brushed some snow off her cloak. She grabbed her hand, "ready?" Eve nodded her head eagerly.

Xena knew this was going to happen but only a few shops in Eve wanted to stop at every single one, looking at jewelry and pretty scarves. They weren't even to the fabric shop yet and already they were behind schedule. Gabrielle, of course, followed Eve in and both of them ogled over the items each merchant had. Xena waited patiently for them both like always. She didn't really like shopping and she only agreed to come with Gabrielle because she invited Eve, otherwise she would stay behind at the palace instead.

"Alright come on you two..." Xena sighed and tried pulling both of them out but it was difficult.

"Mother, did you see those necklaces? They're from India!" Eve grinned and Xena linked arms with her pulling her away from the jewelry.

The empress nodded, "yes they're very pretty." She could see the fabric shop from here and it was so close yet so far. Eve looked around and found another shop but Xena held onto her arm firmly. "We can look later, okay?"

Gabrielle caught up with them, enjoying the shops just as much as Eve was. "We should go to India, Xena. We've never been there!" Xena groaned inwardly thinking maybe she definitely should have stayed behind and let these two do the shopping together.

"Let's just focus on the fabric for now," Xena said flatly.

Finally what seemed like ages later they all arrived at the fabric shop and it was large. Most of the fabric was shipped in from Egypt which wasn't a huge surprise. Xena looked around casually but Gabrielle asked to see a lot of different colors.

Eve helped Gabrielle pick out some colors and Xena peered over to see a gold sparkly fabric that they chose. "No way am I wearing that color," she protested.

"It would look great on you," Gabrielle smiled.

"Yeah maybe if I was King Midas' wife," Xena spat back and Eve chuckled. Gabrielle bought the fabric without Xena's consent and the empress rolled her eyes, feeling like arguing with this woman was useless.

About an hour later they were still looking at fabric and Xena was growing so bored. She saw Eve looking at a few patterns and decided not to let her foul mood infect the others around her. "Did you find something you like?" she said placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

Eve nodded, "I like this one," she pointed to the green fabric, "and this one," pointing to the dark purple fabric next to it. She let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't choose!"

"Why not get both?" Xena said and Eve agreed, she hadn't even thought of buying both of them.

After another half hour of buying and packaging the fabrics Xena was so bored and ready to get out of here before those two bought anything else. She saw Gabrielle carrying two boxes with her and Xena stood up from the chair she was sitting in. "Are you two finished?"

Gabrielle smirked, "yes, Xena. You don't have to suffer anymore," she teased.

"Thank the gods for that," Xena smirked and grabbed Eve's hand as they all walked out together into the light snowfall.

As the three made their way back to the palace Eve didn't really want to go back just yet. "Do we have to go back right now?"

Xena felt the need to slap herself. She turned around with a soft face, "you would like to stay and look around some more, wouldn't you?" her daughter nodded her head and Xena sighed with a weak smile. "Alright..."

Gabrielle could see that Xena wanted to get back and continue working on the coronation but she also wanted to please her daughter. "I can show her around, you can go back to the palace," she offered.

That was a big relief, "are you sure, Gabrielle?" she wanted to make sure and not seem too eager to leave.

"Yes. I'll take good care of her," the blonde promised and Xena looked to Eve's excited face and she trusted Gabrielle.

"Alright," Xena turned to leave in the opposite direction, "but don't buy anything too extravagant," she said firmly.

"Of course not," Eve said with a big grin. Xena was unconvinced and if Gabrielle was shopping with her without her present then that was a bad idea because there would be no boundaries.

* * *

Xena returned to the Roman fortress and heard a lot of growling from down the hall. She frowned and followed the sound. She peeked her head in the room and saw Solan with a staff and Assad circling him cautiously.

"Solan, what is going on?" she was concerned as she heard the large feline growling and hissing at Solan in the room. Her son looked up then saw Assad bite the staff and push him down on the ground. Solan stared at the broken staff and blinked at the black leopard. Xena pulled out her sword not really trusting the feline then suddenly Assad rolled over on his back and licked his paw casually.

Solan stood up and laughed at his mother's face. "You should see your face!"

Xena frowned and sheathed her sword. "What exactly are you doing?" she asked and looked at the large cat rolling on his back playfully.

"I'm teaching Assad to become an attack cat!" Solan smiled triumphantly and Xena blinked at him, staring blankly. "He's pretty good, right?" he smiled and still saw his mother's concern. "He convinced you didn't he?" he winked.

She shook her head, "it seems kind of dangerous," she said and Assad came to Solan's side and rubbed his body against his legs whilst purring loudly.

"Only when he wants to be. He's a big baby," Solan scratched Assad's ears giving him ultimate satisfaction. "Probably the only animal I like that Eve brought home with her," he smirked.

Xena smirked, "he's a good alarm for getting Gabrielle out of bed."

Solan nodded then proceeded to exit the large empty room and threw Assad a treat and then the cat followed them both out, trailing behind them casually. "Aren't you supposed to be with Eve and Gabrielle?" he looked around to see that his mother came back alone.

Xena sighed rolling her eyes, "I was so bored shopping with those two. I decided to come back here and work on the ceremony while Gabrielle and Eve continue exploring."

He smiled, "you never really liked shopping anyway," he wrapped his arm around his mother and her eyes widened. "I want to help you with the ceremony since Gabrielle is off with Eve doing 'girl things'", he teased. She smiled liking that idea very much. It wasn't very often that Solan offered to help with those sorts of things, but obviously he was just as bored as she was.

* * *

Samuel came into his bedroom after helping clear out another room in the palace just like Xena asked. He had been working on that room all morning. He figured it was a ballroom considering all the decor, which was now gone, destroyed or taken to the city for the civilians. He took off his tunic throwing it aside on a chair and grabbed a bottle of wine off the table.

He looked at the bed and saw Assad laying down taking up the entire front end of the bed. He set the uncorked bottle down and raised an eyebrow. "How's it going?" he smirked and then poured a glass of wine for himself. Assad continued staring at him and he yawned widely. "Yeah, I feel you," he sighed. "You miss Eve huh?" he sat down opposite the cat and he blinked at him with his gold eyes. "She'll be back later." He sipped the wine and thought it was really odd that he was talking to a cat. He didn't really like cats that much but Assad was nice and super protective especially of the women in the palace, he noticed.

Xena entered the room and heard him talking to Assad by himself. Samuel almost spit out his wine and realized he wasn't really properly dressed in front of her. He grabbed a blanket and covered himself smiling nervously at her. Xena smiled and stepped inside, "talking to cats are we?" she spied Assad on the bed laying down sleepily.

"He's a good listener," he lamely said.

She chuckled softly, "I want to show you something," she said and he set the glass down on the table then grabbed a fresh tunic slipping it over his head to follow her.

They came to a room just a few doors down and she opened the large doors and Samuel looked inside. It was a reasonable sized room and obviously had nothing in it since she cleared everything out. "What do you think of this room?" she asked and stepped inside.

He looked around and saw large windows and nodded. "It's nice," he turned to her confused, "what are you going to use this room for?" he asked.

She smiled at his puzzlement, "for the twins?"

His eyes widened, "oh," and then it donned on him. "Ohhh," he smiled and bobbed his head, "then it's perfect!" he set his hands on his hips looking around. "I almost forgot." He then frowned, "I mean, I didn't forget about them, that's not what I meant –"

Xena placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know what you meant," she grinned. "Samuel, you need to relax." She advised and he sighed heavily. "I can see stress written all over your face."

"It's not normal to feel this way?" he asked concerned.

She smiled, "no it's a very normal response, but I think you're worried than Eve is," she teased. He half smiled realizing that he was far too stressed about this, and if Xena saw that then his own mother, Hatima, saw it too. He didn't want to appear that way in front of Eve in fear that would worry her.

"No stress, got it," he huffed. Xena smiled thinking those same exact words that she reiterated herself when she was pregnant with Eve. Gabrielle told her countless times to relax, though it was easier said than done. "Where is Eve anyway?" he frowned.

"She's with Gabrielle, probably buying everything she set her eyes on," Xena smirked.

Samuel slapped his forehead, "oh boy. I can't handle it when she buys a lot of stuff. Did you see all the clothes she brought back from Egypt? My God," he sighed heavily.

Xena chuckled, "she likes shopping. She gets that from Gabrielle. Unfortunately, Gabrielle gave Eve whatever she wanted when she was younger. To say the least, she turned into a brat for much of her childhood until she turned sixteen."

The Persian blinked, "Eve? A brat?" he couldn't believe that. She nodded, affirming his disbelief.

"She didn't like to hear the word 'no' and often still doesn't, though I don't think that's because she was spoiled," she sighed thinking it was her entire fault that Eve became so rebellious and often disobeyed her many times due to her suffocation and over protectiveness throughout her life.

"Well, she's not like that now. I wonder what changed her," he thought.

Xena smiled smugly, "maybe she met someone who changed her for the better," she hinted and saw Samuel wasn't following along. She sighed and thought that at whatever age men were at, they could never get hints to save their life. "I gave Gabrielle a list of things to buy in the city for the room. I just hope they don't come back with more things than needed."

"You did say Gabrielle buys her whatever she wants..." he teased.

"I know and that's what I'm afraid of," she sighed then thought for a moment. "I should take my own advice and learn to relax," she smirked.

* * *

Gabrielle and Eve had been looking at every shop for hours now and Gabrielle suggested they stop for awhile to sit down and eat something. They found a tavern in the city, though there were many, this one was the closest to where they had left off during their escapade.

Eve drank the rest of her water and both had finished eating. Gabrielle glanced around and saw many eyes on them especially on Eve. They looked a bit out of place and though some of the citizens saw Gabrielle with Xena many times, they hadn't seen Eve and were curious as to who she was and why she was with Gabrielle.

Eve brushed a tendril behind her ear and ran her palm over her slicked back hair that was pulled into a large bun on top of her head. She saw many men staring at her and she frowned. "Why are they staring at me?" she whispered to Gabrielle. She wrapped her black cloak around her body feeling a bit self conscious.

Gabrielle shrugged lightly and sipped her wine, "maybe they're surprised a small person like you can eat that much," she teased.

The princess frowned, " _small_? Gabrielle, have you seen me lately?" she smirked.

"Well, you can't really  _tell_  with that cloak on," Gabrielle smiled and finished off her wine. Eve's eyes looked around and still saw the men staring at her, men of all ages. "I don't think they know who you are," she whispered. "Plus, you aren't exactly dressed like a common person," she gestured to her nice cloak, purple gown and not to mention her hairdo.

Eve nodded understanding where Gabrielle was coming from. "One of the perks of being hidden for years I guess," she sighed. "Thank you  _mother_ ," she muttered.

Suddenly she was startled when one of the waiters came up to their table and Eve anxiously rubbed the back of her neck looking away. "Gabrielle," he smiled at her and she falsely smiled at him. "Who is your guest?" he asked. Eve looked up at him and he looked at her light blue eyes.

Gabrielle stammered and didn't exactly know how to introduce Eve to him. She wasn't sure if Xena wanted her super exposed to everyone in this city, considering they had just won them over, it was like walking on eggshells sometimes. "Oh..um, she –she..." she frowned unsure and looked at Eve who kept staring at the waiter. "She's just a –"

"Princess," Eve blurted out and Gabrielle's eyes widened.

The waiter looked confused and he folded his arms, "a princess huh?" he grinned. "I don't recall any princesses from this area," he chuckled.

Eve frowned, becoming irritated at this young man. He obviously thought she was joking. "I am a princess," she said flatly, "Princess of Greece." Gabrielle slapped her forehead with her palm and cursed to herself. Now others surrounding them were listening and looked over in their direction. Gabrielle glanced around with her head low and saw many prying eyes.

"I think we should leave..." Gabrielle mumbled and Eve narrowed her eyes at the waiter and then saw many others staring at her.

"Princess of Greece?" the waiter said in disbelief. "The Empress –"

"Is my mother," Eve said firmly and the waiter's jaw dropped. The surrounding eavesdroppers began whispering to each other and the tavern became very quiet.

Gabrielle smiled nervously glancing at everyone and grabbed Eve's arm. "We should get going..." she pulled her up and Eve stared at everyone. "Like  _now_!" she said firmly and pushed her out of the tavern.

Once outside Gabrielle firmly held onto Eve's arm. "What was  _that_  back there?" she said in a hushed tone.

Eve yanked her arm away, "he was annoying me!" she folded her arms. "Did you see him? He didn't believe me when I said I was the empress's daughter!"

"Lower your voice," Gabrielle said and saw others around them look their way.

The irate princess climbed onto her horse and fixed her collar on the cloak. "I'm going back to the palace," she pulled on the reins and left Gabrielle by herself as she trotted off through the city.

Gabrielle groaned and saw Eve round a corner. She cursed to herself and mounted the horse following behind her at a fair distance.

* * *

Once Eve arrived at the palace she dismounted the horse and stormed up the stairs picking her gown up and her cloak furiously waving in the wind behind her. Samuel was working on the outside decor of the palace and smiled seeing Eve's return. "Hey Eve, how was shopping?" he asked and she completely ignored him entering the palace and the Grecian soldiers moved out of her way as she made her way through.

Gabrielle finally arrived and hopped off her horse running up the stairs. Samuel frowned and saw her, "Gabrielle, how was –" she ignored him too and briskly walked into the palace. "Okay then," he shook his head and saw one of the banners falling off the roof. He groaned and yelled at his men up above in some foul words of his native language.

Inside Gabrielle saw Eve walking quickly down the long hallway. "Eve!" she called out and the princess ignored her. " _Eve_!" she said more forcefully this time. "Stop!" she yelled and finally Eve halted mid-step. Gabrielle caught up to her and came around to face her, looking up at her. She obviously wasn't very happy and truly annoyed. "You can't just say things like that in public." She explained more calmly.

Eve huffed, "why not? Mother has kept me hidden long enough. Nobody knows that I exist!"

"For good reason. Xena made sure to keep you away from the public's eye to keep you safe. We've been over this," Gabrielle said and it wasn't convincing the angry princess.

"I know that, but there is no Roman Empire now. I don't need to be in seclusion anymore," she sighed. "I'm going to my room," she brushed passed her. "Thank you for taking me shopping," she said in a soft voice. Gabrielle watched her walk down the hallway and sighed deeply. Eve was right about one thing, the Roman Emperor was gone and technically, there was no threat anymore.

Xena approached Gabrielle and tapped her shoulder scaring her. "I didn't mean to scare you," she smiled and Gabrielle nodded. "Did you get the things I asked for?" and Gabrielle nodded but didn't say anything. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she smiled weakly.

"Where's Eve?" she asked looking around.

Gabrielle looked down the empty hallway and Xena asked again. "She went to her room. She's really tired."

Xena smiled and asked Gabrielle to walk with her. "Did you two have a good time?"

"Yeah," the blonde said softly and kept walking alongside Xena.

"Please Gabrielle, don't keel over with excitement," Xena sarcastically teased and Gabrielle chuckled softly at her joking manner.

"We had a good time," she said reassuringly, "she bought a lot of stuff."

Xena sighed, "I hope it wasn't  _too_   _much_  stuff..." she hoped.

"I'll save you the heart attack then and won't tell you," Gabrielle pat Xena's cheek playfully and the empress blinked, now afraid of what and how much Eve actually bought.

* * *

A couple of days later Xena was sitting in the atrium working on a document by herself to come up with a few laws that were essential. She was able to find Octavius' office and rummage through his manuscripts to find out what kind of laws he had in place for his people. She couldn't believe some of the things in here and made a lot of changes.

She dipped the quill in the ink and one of her men entered the room announcing himself. She stumbled and splattered ink all over her parchment. She groaned inwardly and stood up looking at the young soldier. He handed her a rolled up parchment, "this is for you."

 _For me?_ She wasn't expecting a letter from anyone and why would she? Everyone was either dead or lived elsewhere. She took the parchment and he left the room to go outside to continue working on the palace's infrastructure. Unrolling the parchment she saw it was in Latin and sighed. She had grown more accustom to this language over the years but it was difficult to read for her. Although, this was short and sweet.

She frowned reading through the text and her eyes widened. Her mouth gaped and she ran towards the balcony. She saw parchment all over the city, on the ground and others reading it. She saw a few people look up at her and she groaned, closing the curtains.

Furiously she stormed down the hall and Solan walked by with Assad following beside him. "Hey you know there are people outside the palace, right?" he thumbed to the entrance behind him. That only made her more furious and she brushed passed him to the entrance.

She swung open the doors and saw people crowded around the stairs. Her army was keeping them away from coming any closer. The Roman citizens saw Xena standing at the entryway and bombarded her with questions and she instantly became overwhelmed.

Snarling she left the sea of people and their unanswered questions. She went to her bedroom and Gabrielle was in bed going over some patterns for the dress she wanted Xena to wear. Gabrielle saw Xena storm in and she had a parchment in her hand.

"What in Hades is this bullshit?" Xena instantly said and Gabrielle blinked, completely confused. "Allow me," she smiled tightly and read aloud, "Gabrielle, one of the empress's trusted warriors, accompanied a mysterious beautiful young woman through the streets of Rome on a sunny winter day. The woman claimed that she is the Empress's daughter, the Princess of Greece to an unknown Roman citizen in a small tavern in the city." She stopped refusing to read any more and threw the parchment at Gabrielle. "Explain this to me," she folded her arms.

Gabrielle grabbed the parchment and read the rest of the text over quickly. "Xena, this was an accident." She explained calmly and she saw Xena was anything but calm.

"Accident..." Xena chuckled and rubbed her forehead. "What do you mean it was an  _accident_? Eve just happened to blurt this out to a random person?!"

"No, it didn't happen like that," Gabrielle said calmly. "Everyone was staring at her and she got super irritated and she just...she just said that. The man asked who she was because I was with her and he didn't know who she was."

Silence.

"Obviously the Romans are really curious about her..." she sighed. "Look at this way, Octavius and his dogs are gone! She's no longer in danger and would it be so bad that people know about her? They know about Solan."

Xena glared at her, "that's different." She began to pace around back and forth in front of the bed.

Gabrielle agreed that was a bit different and Solan was already known in Rome long before he left for Greece in his teens. "It might make you more relatable to the Romans if they know you have a family," she tried to make the situation better.

"Or it will raise questions as to why I kept her a secret for twenty two years," Xena said and sat on the bed finally. She looked at the wall blankly, "am I overreacting?"

Gabrielle smiled and scooted closer to her, "do you want the honest answer?"

Xena looked at her and saw the truth in her eyes, she didn't need to say it. "I think I already know the answer." She sighed. "What am I going to say to them? They're all crowded around the entrance!"

She shrugged, "you don't really have anything to say. You could introduce her to everyone during the ceremony next month..." she suggested and Xena nodded silently agreeing to that. "She was really upset that nobody knew who she was. I mean," she chuckled, "she  _is_  the princess."

"You're right Gabrielle," she stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to pay a visit to my big mouth daughter," Xena jested then took the parchment with her.

* * *

She came to Eve and Samuel's room and knocked on the door first before allowing herself to come in. she opened the door and saw Eve reading a book by herself on the bed. Eve lifted her eyes from the book and saw her mother. "Hello," she said and closed the book setting it aside.

Xena sat on the bed next to her and gave her the parchment. Eve frowned and opened it, reading it carefully she saw her title and Gabrielle written in this. Her face immediately paled and she looked into her mother's icy blue eyes.

"You're very popular," Xena said in a steady calm tone.

Eve sighed and looked over the gossip once more. "I didn't know they were going to publish  _this_..." she mumbled. "Are you mad at me?" she asked and Xena shook her head.

"Gabrielle told me that you very upset that nobody knew you. You deserve to be recognized for your title just as much as anyone else," Xena smiled and she saw some relief on Eve's face. "But next time make sure you tell a credible source because right now you're just a rumor," she teased.

Eve smiled, "I'm sorry, I must have made your life more difficult."

"As always," Xena winked and her daughter gasped. "Joking," she said and kissed Eve's forehead. "So, Princess of Greece huh?"


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – _The Laurel Part_   _I_

_One Month Later_

Gabrielle worked extremely hard to prepare everything for this ceremony and so far everything was going according to plan. Xena was less stressed which always made things better for Gabrielle and much easier as well. She was a lot more relaxed and she didn't remember the last time she had seen Xena so relaxed or if she ever was relaxed in her life. Xena smiled more and perhaps it was because that Octavius was gone and she didn't have anything to worry about her, or maybe because she achieved her lifelong goal to be rid of the Roman Empire for good. Or perhaps it was everything all above plus Eve was giving her grandchildren which Gabrielle knew Xena thought that'd never happen due to their chaotic lifestyle.

She wanted everything to be just right and that included Xena's dress, which she had someone else make with her special instructions of course. Xena had yet to see the gown and Gabrielle was not going to show her until the coronation, which was tomorrow morning. For now, she sat on the bed with Xena and Eve in their bedroom. It was extremely cold outside today and it had been snowing for the last week but now it finally stopped. It was very sunny which was better than it being dark and gloomy like it was for the past few days.

It was Xena's idea to use the fabric that Eve bought last month to make clothes for the twins. Xena always surprised Gabrielle when it came to her hidden skills. She may have not been the best writer or reader, but she was good at many other things, swordsmanship being one, of course, a politician not by choice, a leader, a warrior, an empress, a mother...and a friend. Gabrielle smiled as she watched Xena for the last couple of hours sewing and stitching the green fabric to make infant clothes. She never knew that Xena could sew or even knew how to sew for that matter, but that was another one of her hidden talents she supposed. She was so concentrated and focused on sewing that she only spoke a few words whenever Eve said something or kept talking about random things. And it wasn't that she was surprised that Xena could sew, it was even more surprising that she was actually very good at it. Her stitches were perfect and aligned just right.

She looked over at Eve who was trying to learn how to sew by copying Xena and asking her questions which Xena kindly answered whilst continuing to sew. Gabrielle could see some frustration in Eve's eyes when she messed up a seam or sewed a stitch too far apart from the last one, but she was very determined, just like Xena was and continued to be.

Gabrielle was signing Xena's name at the bottom of a lot of parchments. Something she did often when Xena was absent or too busy, but she wasn't busy, she was enjoying her time to do something with her daughter and with herself. She smiled at the two brunettes as they were keenly focused.

Eve sighed and finally she finished a hat she had been working on for the last two hours. She looked over and saw her mother had already finished an outfit and was half way done with another one. Her mouth gaped, "why are you so good at this?" she asked, quite shocked at her mother's seamstress abilities.

Xena smiled and stuck the needle in her mouth, "I am good at a lot of things," she teased and saw she messed up a seam and began ripping it out carefully with a small tool.

"She has many skills," Gabrielle said and Xena smiled at her.

"Apparently," Eve said and leaned over to observe what her mother was doing. "How do you do that?"

Xena finished ripping the seam out and she took the needle out of her mouth and thread it again. She scooted closer to her daughter for her to get a better look. She pushed the needle halfway through the fabric, "you just stick the needle through like this," and she pulled the large needle out the other side. "Then you push it through again," she repeated the process and pulled gently, creating a knot in the thread. "And there you go," she bit the thread off and Eve eyed it closely, still a bit baffled as to why her mother was good at this trade.

Eve sighed, "where did you learn to do that?"

Gabrielle lifted her head eager to know the answer as well. She didn't want to ask earlier because Xena had been super focused and never disturbed her when she was in that mode of concentration. "My mother taught me," Xena said with a subtle smile.

"She must have taught you a lot of things," Eve said and Xena nodded. Gabrielle smirked and kept signing the parchments one by one casually listening to these two. It was quite relaxing, she thought. "Do you know how to sew Gabrielle?" Eve asked.

Gabrielle lifted her head and saw Xena's smug grin hidden behind the fabric she was sewing. "No I don't but maybe Xena can teach me," she grinned and saw Xena's eyes glance over at her.

"If you have the patience," Xena teased with a wide grin and accidentally poked her finger with the needle. She hissed and stuck her finger in her mouth to ease the pain. Gabrielle stifled a laugh and Eve hid her smile. "You two are really distracting. I don't know how I get anything done around here," she jested.

"You just keep sewing," Gabrielle chuckled softly and continued signing, almost finished with the large stack after hours of sitting here with these two. Her eyes looked over to Eve and she was folding the remainder of the fabric up. "How are you feeling, Eve?"

Eve lifted her head and blinked, "I –I'm fine," she smiled nervously, "why?"

Xena peered over and took the needle out of her mouth, flipping the fabric inside out, "well, it's getting closer to that time," she saw Eve's eyes look down at herself, "and by the looks of it, they could come any day now." She had a big smile on her face which only made Eve more nervous.

"But I have a few weeks left," Eve said softly and Gabrielle smirked.

"That's what you think," Gabrielle muttered and Eve looked over to her with worried eyes.

Xena smiled but then saw Eve was not keen on joking at the moment. She reached over and placed her hand on Eve's belly and quirked her mouth, "feels ready to me," she smirked and Eve exhaled deeply.

"And  _how_  would you know that?" Eve smirked.

"I told you, she has many skills," Gabrielle chuckled. "Don't be scared Eve, we'll be here with you," she pat Eve's knee gently.

Xena agreed, "You haven't felt any pain at all?" she asked concerned. Eve shook her head.

"I feel really good right now," Eve said with a smile, "I haven't been sick at all for the last few weeks either."

Xena nodded, "well," she smiled, "that's good to hear," she then went back to sewing and Gabrielle finally finished signing everything. "Do you know what you're going to wear tomorrow?"

"Yes! I think I should wear the blue dress I bought in Egypt. I'm really curious to see what you're going to wear..." she chuckled softly and Xena rolled her eyes.

"Yeah me too!" Gabrielle teased. Xena kicked Gabrielle's knee and she winced. "Jeez!" she rubbed her knee and looked to Eve, "see what she does to me?" Eve shook her head at these two. She couldn't get enough of them especially when they playfully teased one another like they always did.

A knock came to the door and all three women stopped looking at the door. "Come in," Gabrielle called out. Samuel opened the door and smiled at everyone. "Hey handsome look at you!" she looked at his entire black attire and cloak to match. Samuel blushed and Xena kept sewing, ignoring him, though not on purpose.

"I don't want to interrupt," he said and took another step closer to the bed. "But I'm going into the city to get something and wondered if...Eve wanted to join me?"

Eve smiled and of course she wanted to go. She looked to her mother and kissed her cheek, "thank you for spending time with me," she said nicely and Xena nodded. She then reached over and kissed Gabrielle's cheek too. "Learn how to sew, Gabrielle," she teased. She swung her legs over the bed and Samuel grabbed her hand helping her off the bed. She then kissed him on the lips and he blushed once she pulled away and saw Gabrielle's and Xena's big smirks on their faces. "I will go get my cloak," she said and left the room.

Samuel followed after her and Xena pulled the needle out of the fabric, "Samuel," she said and he turned around. "Watch her," she said firmly and he nodded.

Once the two left Gabrielle crawled over to sit beside Xena watching her continuing to sew. She looked and then Xena flipped the fabric inside out and sighed looking at the finished product. "Done," Xena laid out the two outfits she made in front of her.

"They look so cute!" Gabrielle said and Xena smirked. "You did a really good job. You continue to impress  _and_  surprise me, Xena." She saw a subtle smile on her face and she nudged her arm. "Are you excited?" she asked.

"Right now, I'm more anxious than excited," Xena sighed. "I just want things to go smoothly tomorrow and with Eve too."

Gabrielle nodded, "well, I for one, have been counting down the days," she could barely contain her excitement and Xena saw it in her eyes. "I can't wait to see your face when you see your dress."

"Ugh, Gabrielle," she shook her head, rubbing her forehead. "You won't let me see it will you?"

"Not until tomorrow," Gabrielle smiled sneakily, "you're going to love it I promise."

"I'm trusting you, Gabrielle. This better be good, or else," Xena said with a flat tone.

Gabrielle chuckled, "or else what?" she teased and nudged Xena and the empress stifled a laugh, playing along, she nudged her back.

A few moment passed and Gabrielle then asked, "are you still worried about Eris?"

Xena sighed, "I'd rather not think about it. I haven't heard anything from Ares or Eris. I'd like to keep it that way." Gabrielle nodded in agreement. Xena picked up the stack of parchment, "thank you for signing these." She set the stack on the bedside table. "You sent all the notices out right?"

Gabrielle nodded, "yes I did that weeks ago. All across Italia, Greece, Thrace and Assyria. I asked Allat to come, but Solan doesn't know, so don't tell him," she winked.

"Got it," Xena grinned. "And you sent a notice to my mother personally right?"

"The first one to be sent out," Gabrielle said and Xena liked to hear that. She hadn't seen her mother in so long and Solan said that she wanted to see Xena, so what better time to see her than now? "She's going to be very happy to see you again, and Solan and Eve too!"

Xena smiled, "I am looking forward to it."

"It's nice to see you like this, you know," Gabrielle rest her head on Xena's shoulder, grazing her fingers over Xena's hand.

"Like what?" Xena scoffed.

"So relaxed and calm! I don't think I've ever seen you like this before," she sighed.

Xena touched Gabrielle's hand and intertwined her fingers with hers. "It's a work in progress," she smiled softly and kissed Gabrielle's hand.

* * *

Outside the palace Samuel lifted Eve onto the horse easily and he fixed her cloak for her. She stared at him warmly, "so where are we going?" she asked.

He grinned and mounted on his own horse, "you'll see."

She groaned, "Samuel...why won't you just tell me?"

"Because what's the fun in that?" he teased. "You'll love it I promise," he stretched out his hand and she pulled on the horse's reins to come beside him. She grabbed his hand and he grinned at her mysteriously.

Together they rode out into Rome and everyone was very curious and looked at them both. Ever since the news about Eve being the daughter of the empress circulated around the city and soon everywhere else, she was the public's interest. She hardly came outside and when she did, which she only left twice since she had been here, she was the spotlight.

Samuel smiled anxiously at everyone, not entirely used to be stared at by so many people. The Romans knew who he was and obviously made a connection when they were seen together in close proximity. "They are fascinated by you," he said and she pursed her lips. "Come on we're going this way," he grabbed her hand and they had to ride slowly through everyone. Of course Xena's army was posted throughout the city for safety precautions and watched the citizens and pushed them back to allow Samuel and Eve pass through.

Eve recognized this path and it was a dangerous path because there were so many shops here. He held onto her hand tightly and she glanced around at all the shops. Samuel glanced over to see Eve's eyes lit up. She was like a child on its birthday being gifted hundreds of presents. It was definitely priceless.

He continued staring at her, admiring her beauty. Her fair skin and blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. Her dark hair pulled back into a tight high bun only showcased her perfect cheekbones, accentuating her beauty even more.

Eve caught him staring at her goofily and she chuckled, "what?"

"Just looking," he said softly and kissed her hand.

She rolled her eyes, "you've been  _looking_  at me like that for the last month now," she smiled.

He shrugged, "I can't look at you anymore?" he said and halted the horse. "We're here," he hopped off the horse and came to aid her. He lifted her off the horse and she wrapped her cloak around herself. She looked around a bit confused as to why they were at a small merchant's shop.

"What are we doing here?" she asked. He smiled and grabbed her hand leading her inside the shop, ducking his head through the doorway.

"Be patient," he teased and she sighed heavily following him in. An elderly woman came out from the back of the shop and smiled sweetly at them both. She wiped her hands off with a cloth and greeted him. "Hello, nice to see you again," he said.

"Yes, your highness," she bowed her head curtly then looked to Eve and saw her eyes wander around her shop. It was filled with shoes, dresses and jewelry but mainly dresses. "And this must be the Empress's daughter?" she said and that caught Eve's attention.

The princess faced the woman and smiled, nodding her head. "Nice to meet you," she said and the woman lowered her eyes, bowing her head slightly. Eve was not used to such treatment, at least not in public, but it was kind of nice. Of course her mother always got this treatment wherever she went, but this was new to her.

Samuel leaned on the counter, "is it ready?" he eyed her cautiously.

The woman nodded and reached down below the counter and pulled out a flat box and placed it on the counter. "Per Queen Hatun's request," she said and Eve frowned. Samuel picked up the box and handed it to Eve.

"What's this?" she was baffled and took the box in her hands, tempted to open it right now.

He placed his hand over the box, "not here," he said and that only made her more curious. "Thank you, I'll be sure to tell my mother that I picked this up." He placed his hand on the small of Eve's back and lead her out of the shop.

Eve was so anxious to open the box and she smiled curiously at him. "What is it?" she was dying to know.

He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "My mother had a wedding dress made for you."

Eve's eyes lit up and she opened the lid of the box and he slammed it shut. She frowned at him and he shook his head. "What did I say?" he said and she sighed. He took the box from her and placed it in the bag on one of the horses. "you can open it when we get back, alright?" she nodded vigorously. He smiled and then heard his own native language not far from them which caught his ear. He turned around and saw a group of Persians talking among each other in front of a small tavern. He recognized those people anywhere and they definitely weren't commoners. They were dressed like royalty and he saw a woman wearing a gold and white dress wearing a sheer veil on her head.

Eve saw him staring and she grabbed his arm, "you know them?" she asked.

Samuel sighed, "unfortunately," narrowing his eyes. He saw the young woman turn around and hoped it wasn't who he thought it was, but it definitely was.

The Persian woman was laughing with her entourage and turned to see someone staring at her. She smiled as soon as she saw it was Samuel staring at her. She excused herself from the group and walked over towards him. Eve's eyes looked to him and then at the woman approaching them. She had fair skin, dark hair and brown big eyes.

"Samuel, I didn't know you were staying in Rome," she said and smiled at him. She noticed the woman standing next to him and saw her arm linked with his.

"What are you doing here, Amira?" he asked, becoming quite irritated at the sight of her.

Amira shrugged, "my brothers and I were just passing through. I heard there was a coronation tomorrow so we decided to stay," she grinned sweetly. "Such a surprise to see you here," she slyly said.

Eve frowned at the woman and obviously didn't like how she was talking to him. She clung to his arm, " _who_  is this?" she asked, glaring at the woman.

Amira smiled at the fair skinned princess, "Samuel, that's not very nice. You should introduce us." Her eyes lowered and he sighed heavily.

"Amira, this is Eve. Eve, Amira," he said quickly and Amira folded her arms staring at Eve.

"Is this your wife?" she asked curious.

Samuel looked to Eve and saw the anger in her eyes. "Y-yes," he answered and felt Eve's grip tighten.

"I see," Amira said and her smile disappeared as Eve kept glaring at her. She saw that Eve was quite tall, almost equal in Samuel's height and she was dressed...like royalty. "So where are you from?" she asked Eve.

Samuel rolled his eyes, "don't answer her, let's just go," he pulled Eve along and Amira smirked. He helped Eve onto the horse and Eve's cloak slipped. Amira's eyes widened once she saw that Samuel's said wife was heavily pregnant. He mounted his horse and glared at Amira. "Enjoy your stay in Rome," he said and pulled on the reins of his horse. Eve turned her head over her shoulder glaring at the Persian woman staring at her.

Amira's brothers came to join her and watched Samuel leave with Eve down the road. "Was that Samuel?" her eldest brother, Ali, asked.

"Did you see  _her_?" she said with a deep frown.

Ali looked on and saw the woman riding alongside Samuel. "Yeah, she's pretty good looking," he smirked.

Amira slapped his chest and he winced. "He said that is his wife. Since when did Samuel get married?" she huffed, becoming irritated.

Faisal, her younger brother smiled looking at the Persian King ride along through the crowds. "She doesn't look Persian to me!"

"She's  _not_ ," Amira's eyes narrowed. She looked at her brothers and groaned brushing passed them, not able to handle the way they were fawning over Eve.

* * *

Eve was still thinking of that woman back there as they rode through the city together. Samuel was very quiet and she glanced over at him. She saw he was incredibly annoyed and she never saw him like that before. "Who was that?" she asked calmly, trying not to incite him.

He snapped out of his daze and looked over at her. He kissed her hand and shook his head, "nobody," he said firmly.

"She obviously  _somebody_  because she knew you. Who is she?" she pressed further.

"She's a nobody, Eve," he reassured her.

She sighed, "is she a friend of yours?"

He looked at her angrily, "no!" he yelled, startling her. "Sorry, I'm sorry," he exhaled deeply. "Just forget it, okay?" he smiled weakly at her. She smiled, nodding her head and decided not to say anything during the rest of the way back to the palace.

When they returned Eve took off her cloak and placed it on the wall in their room. He was still very quiet and she hadn't said anything more. She sat on the bed and watched him organize his desk mindlessly. "Samuel..."

He stopped and turned around to see her concerned face. He came to sit beside her on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead. He pulled out the box of the wedding dress and handed it to her. "I'm sure you'll be anxious to show your mother and Gabrielle this."

Eve smiled and put the box aside. She stared into his eyes and really didn't want to see such distress on his face. "Who is Amira?" she asked. Samuel rubbed his face and looked away. She grabbed his chin and turned his face towards hers. "You can tell me," she smiled, "I'm not mad, I just want to know why you're so upset."

He inhaled sharply, "I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled.

She didn't say anything and feared that if she kept asking about Amira that it would only push him away further from her. "If you're sure..." she said quietly.

Samuel nodded, "I'm sure," he leaned forward and pecked her lips gingerly. She half smiled and saw him rest his hand on her belly. "So close," he smiled, "how much time left?" he asked.

Eve shrugged her shoulders and exhaled deeply, "my mother says they will be come sooner than we think."

His eyes widened now fear overcoming him suddenly, but he didn't want to show that in front of her so he remained silent. "Really?" he wanted some reassurance.

She nodded, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see," she smiled. He agreed and kept quiet then stood up grabbing his cloak again. "Where are you going?"

"I promised I'd help my mother with the babies' room." He sighed and draped the cloak over his shoulder, "she's driving me insane!" he half joked and Eve chuckled lightly.

"I know the feeling. My mother has been watching me like a hawk," she then grabbed the box and traced her fingers over the top. "I am dying to look at the dress. I'll go take this to my mother and Gabrielle." She stood slowly and he came over to help her up. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" she said seriously.

"I know," he said and kissed her cheek gently.

* * *

Eve walked down the hall to her mother's and Gabrielle's bedroom. She spoke quietly to herself wondering what Samuel's relationship was with Amira. It shouldn't bother her, but it did. She knew that Samuel loved her and would never leave her for someone else, but obviously Amira knew Samuel very well and it bothered her that he was so quiet about her.

She saw Gabrielle in the hallway walking along. "Gabrielle!" she called out and the blonde turned and smiled once she saw Eve walking towards her. "Where's mother?"

"She's outside in the front bossing her men around," Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

Eve smirked, "of course she is. She just wants everything to be perfect for tomorrow." Gabrielle nodded and then eyed the box in Eve's hand. "Samuel and Hatima got something for me. I wanted to show it to you both," her eyes lit up and that instantly peeked Gabrielle's interests. "But...can I talk to you?"

"Of course you can," Gabrielle linked arms with her and took her to the bedroom to talk privately together. Both sat on the bed and Eve set the box aside. She really wanted to have both of them in the room to show them the dress, but this seemed more important now. Gabrielle crossed her legs and stared at the princess, "so what's on your mind?"

Eve sighed, "well, when me and Samuel were in the city he saw someone that he knew from Persia. She came up to us and she seemed to know Samuel very well." She lowered her eyes, "he was really upset when he saw her and she was very jealous to see me with him. I tried to ask him who she was, but he ignored me and said he didn't want to talk about it."

Gabrielle nodded, feeling Eve's anxiety, "is she a princess?"

She shook her head unknowingly, "I don't know! But she looked like royalty to me. She was with a group of men. I don't know what to think," she sighed.

Gabrielle grabbed Eve's hand gripping tightly, "Samuel loves you a lot, I can see it, Xena can too. Sometimes people don't like to talk about their past," she said gently. Eve didn't seem convinced enough though. "You don't have anything to worry about. He definitely can't keep his eyes off of you," she winked.

Eve half smiled, "it's not that Gabrielle. I just want him to talk to me. You should have seen his face, he was so upset and angry. I have never seen him act like that before. I want him to know that he can tell me anything, like how mother talks to you."

Gabrielle sighed, knowing that getting Xena to talk was quite a challenge sometimes, even now, so it wasn't easy all the time. Xena kept her feelings locked away in a dark closet and it took a lot for her to spill her guts to Gabrielle on several occasions and even still, Xena had secrets that she kept to herself. But Gabrielle knew that being a friend, you're allowed to keep secrets. They weren't joined at the hip and they were their own persons but Eve was right that one shouldn't keep their feelings locked away for long.

"Maybe give him some time? You and I don't really keep our feelings hidden from others, but some people do and that requires some patience. While your mother can be the most impatient person I know and I thought I was very patient –it turns out that she is the master of patience and I am not. She taught me how to be patient with everything and with  _her_."

"so you're saying that I should let him come to me?" she asked, trying to find a solution to this problem.

Gabrielle nodded, "exactly. Give him time and he'll come to you."

"Promise?" Eve said with a bit of mirth in her eyes.

"Yes, I promise," she sighed and looked over at the box. "So what's in the box?"

Eve smirked, "I want to show you and mother together. I haven't even seen it yet!"

"Well don't keep me in suspense. What is it?!" Gabrielle reached for the box and Eve yanked it away from her and Gabrielle pouted. "Come on..."

"It's a wedding dress that Hatima had made for me." Eve said and Gabrielle gasped. "I want to see it but –"

Gabrielle got up and Eve looked confused. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to get Xena!" she ran out of the room and Eve sighed smiling at Gabrielle's enthusiasm.

* * *

About ten minutes later Gabrielle returned with a very annoyed Xena. She was pulling her arm along into the room. "This better be good, Gabrielle," Xena groaned and saw Eve sitting on her bed. "Eve, you're back," she smiled.

Gabrielle pulled Xena's arm and sat her on the bed. Xena frowned up at her, "jeez Gabrielle," she rolled her eyes. "What is so important that you drug me away from my duties?"

"show her!" Gabrielle instructed Eve and the princess pulled out a box. Xena looked at the box not entirely sure what was going on here. Eve was too anxious and she lifted the top of the box and peeked inside. Xena and Gabrielle leaned forward. Eve's eyes widened and she lifted the dress out of the box. It was a beautiful white and silver lace gown. "Oh wow," Gabrielle said aloud.

"Hatima had a wedding dress made for me," Eve smiled and Xena shared a smile with her. Xena took the dress from her and held it up in the light. "It's beautiful!"

Xena stood up and saw the dress had a very long train and had mesh long sleeves with flowers embroidered on them. "Hatima really has outdone herself. I'll have to step up my game," she smirked.

"Mother..." Eve shook her head at her jesting.

"I'm sure you'll be able to fit into this in no time," Xena smiled at her daughter. "You still feel alright?" she asked concerned.

Eve nodded, "yes, I'm fine mother," she chuckled lightly.

* * *

_The Coronation_

Gabrielle wore a blue skirt and top to match with light long sleeves for the cold weather. She had just finished brushing her hair and was waiting for Xena to come out of the bathroom. She gave her the gown and was waiting for her to put it on, although it was taking longer than expected.

"Xena, come on, it doesn't take that long to put a dress on," she called out.

She heard the door open and Xena finally stepped out. Gabrielle turned around and saw her wearing the gold dress that she had made for her. It was sparkly and had long sleeves with cut outs in the shoulders, exposing her bare broad shoulders. Gabrielle's eyes widened seeing her in it was a lot more satisfying than on a rack. "Wow."

"It looks alright?" Xena asked feeling self conscious about herself. She came to the mirror and finally looked at herself. She ran her hands down the dress, smoothing out any wrinkles.

"It looks more than alright," Gabrielle placed her hands on Xena's shoulders. "It's definitely you. Way better than wearing black," she teased.

Xena smirked and turned to the side to look at the back of the dress. "I must say, it does look nice. Thank you Gabrielle."

"You should trust me more, Xena and you should also let me make your clothes for you from now on!" she giggled.

"Now let's not get carried away," Xena raised an eyebrow. She touched her short hair and sighed.

Gabrielle saw the depression on her face appear, "it'll grow back just think of it as a new beginning," she tried to cheer her up. Xena nodded and kissed Gabrielle's forehead gently. "You kind of look like Cleopatra with that hair."

Xena gently slapped Gabrielle's shoulder playfully. She grabbed some earrings to match and looked at herself one last time. "Ready?" she extended her hand and Gabrielle nodded eagerly.

The ceremony would take place on the largest balcony in the fortress where Xena would be able to see everyone below her. This was going to be an unconventional ceremony and later she decided after the ceremony was over she would invite everyone inside the palace. She wanted everyone to feel safe and welcome here. She was just a person like them after all, just with a different status. She wanted everyone to feel equal and what better way to do that than throw a party, not for her, but for the entire nation.

She and Gabrielle walked together down the hall to the balcony and Xena felt knots in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know the last time she felt this way and if she did, it was probably right before both her children were born and she'd never forget that feeling of the unknown yet it was exciting at the same time.

Eve, Samuel, Hatima and Solan were waiting in the middle of the hall a few feet away from the balcony. They were all talking among each other. Their eyes glanced over once they saw Xena and Gabrielle coming towards them.

Solan's eyes widened, "wow mother, you look...very nice," he smiled and Xena smiled shyly.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she said gesturing to his Grecian armor he was wearing.

Samuel decided to wear a more traditional Persian outfit to represent his culture and his people that he was so far away from. Eve wore her blue dress that she bought in Egypt and the sleeves were a sparkly mesh material covering her arms. She also wore a white cloak since they were going to be outside for the entire ceremony. Hatima stood next to them, matching her son in the same Persian garb. She wore a black veil that attached to her crown and trailed down her back, almost reaching the floor.

"Shall we?" Gabrielle said finally breaking the silence. Xena exhaled slowly and tread towards the balcony. She heard the crowd talking loudly even from afar. She walked up the steps and felt like she was becoming an empress all over again, except this time it was different. She didn't succumb to violence to win these people over and she was no longer a tyrannical leader.

Xena stepped out onto the balcony and everyone's eyes were on her. Instantly everyone became silent and she smiled at everyone. She saw a few smiles in the crowd. Gabrielle stood beside her and Solan stood opposite her. Hatima sat behind them as did Samuel and Eve.

"So," Xena said loudly, "I wanted to have this coronation not for myself, but for you all." She breathed in slowly and Gabrielle touched her hand to calm her nerves. She smiled softly, "I know that I did not have the best relationship with the Romans in the past, but I want to change that. We can all live together in peace and prosper together, without borders of separate empires." She sighed and everyone listened to her. She was starting to become nervous and Gabrielle squeezed her hand. "I've changed a lot of things in this city, including the laws made by your previous emperor with the help of my right hand," she looked to Gabrielle.

"Gabrielle is a very important asset to this empire and I want her treated just as you would treat me. I wouldn't be here without her and neither would this empire. She cares for the people of this world and helped me realize that over the years." She smiled and Gabrielle was quite shocked that she said that, and not in private but to the entire Roman public. She was touched and was not expecting that.

"That brings another person that is also very important whom I've kept hidden for a very long time," Xena peered behind her and saw Eve sitting. She grabbed her hand and walked her over to the balcony. "My daughter, Princess Eve. Due to the violence encouraged by the Romans I kept her a secret for two decades. She deserves as much recognition that I do," she brought Eve closer to her and she saw a big smile on her daughter's face.

The Romans' speculations were finally put to rest once they saw Eve standing beside Xena. She was not a rumor anymore and now she was recognized as a princess in this empire –a title that was kept hidden away for so long.

Eve looked in the crowd and saw Amira and her male entourage. She noticed Amira gawking at her and she had a shocked look on her face. Eve smirked at the woman, seeing the shocked expression on her face was enough for her to forget about her existence and relation to Samuel.

Xena proceeded on trying to make this as short as possible. She hated these sorts of things and didn't want to bore the people any more than needed. "Finally, to conclude this ceremony, Gabrielle and I have come up with a new flag to represent this new empire." Gabrielle handed her the rolled up flag and Xena unrolled it. she showed it to the public and it was a red flag with a balance scale embroidered in gold thread. "This flag represents equality among two warring worlds and hopefully, there will be no more wars in the future," she smiled.

The Romans smiled and some clapped while others cheered loudly. Xena hung the flag over the balcony and overlooked everyone below her. She felt like she had achieved something that had wanted for so long and now that it was finally here, she felt like she was in a dream and expected Gabrielle to slap her awake.

"You did such a great job, Xena! They really like you," Gabrielle smiled and hugged her from the side.

"Glad that's over with," Xena teased.

Solan came to her side as they all stepped down from the balcony, "are you really allowing everyone to come into the palace for the party?" he asked, a bit skeptical.

Xena smiled, "this is a party for them, not for me."

He nodded, "so I should go steal as much wine as possible now, then?" his eyebrows wriggled and Xena sighed rolling her eyes. He looked to Samuel, "want to go steal some wine before these Romans drink it all?"

The Persian King sighed and looked to Eve who seemed a bit amused by her brother. He left her side and went off with Solan to grab the wine bottles.

"Those two are so stupid," Eve said and Gabrielle chuckled at that, which it was all too true.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 – _The Laurel Part II_

After the ceremony many Romans were invited into the large fortress for a large celebratory party. This palace was big enough to hold well over a thousand people and yet Octavius kept it all to himself, though Xena could say the same for herself with her home back in Athens. Over time though, Gabrielle suggested turning the Athenian palace into a school so therefore Xena shared her home with children and teachers, but now that was gone. Xena didn't truly love this palace and definitely wouldn't call it home, but it was the only thing she had right now that was to be considered a home. She never thought she'd be living in Rome and she had been in this palace countless times with Julius Caesar and Octavius over the last few decades, but now, they were gone and it was so odd. It was odd to be taking their fortress for herself, but that is what conquerors do, right? Gabrielle always said that Xena was not a conqueror anymore, but she was, maybe not the tyrannical conqueror she once was, but she was still considered a conqueror. She took Rome for her own profit and agenda just like anyone would do if they wanted to overthrow leaders. She was definitely a conqueror but instead of wearing a crown she wore a laurel –it was no different.

Emperors and empresses wouldn't be caught dead celebrating with common people, but Xena no longer thought of herself as anyone above the law. There were laws yes, she and Gabrielle wrote them together, but she was the one to enforce them. Octavius' laws contradicted each other and with those Xena completely got rid of them without a thought. She wanted a better place for the Romans and for the Greeks, the Persians, Assyrians, Egyptians and Turkmen. These laws that she wrote would be used across the Mediterranean countries, though, since she was being fair, she decided for the respecting countries with kings, queens and princes to govern their people as they see fit. They could keep their laws, customs and traditions, but would make sure that the empire's laws made by Xena and Gabrielle, be abided by and anyone that broke them would go through a trial in Rome, the new capitol of the empire.

In the past Xena had laws in the Greek Empire and her respected territories must follow them or else. There was no trial or court cases, she simply got rid of them or exiled them from the empire. But she saw that was extremely unfair and irrational of her to do that. She couldn't believe that she once was so heartless and cruel to any human being that broke the law would be sentenced to death or exile. She supposed she had Gabrielle to thank for that. She saved her humanity and changed her ways and it took some time, but not as long as she thought. Sometimes, Xena thought that she could go back to her old ways easily if she was triggered enough, but she tried not to think about that. Her dark side, as Gabrielle put it, was always inside her and she couldn't get rid of that part of her no matter how hard she tried. She was forever struggling with the light and dark within her heart, every day she struggled with this. Though, she tried to think about the people surrounding her. She had everything she had ever wanted and hoped that one day that she would be able to be rid of that darkness inside of her.

She didn't want anyone else important to her to die especially if it was her fault. She had so much blood on her hands that she wasn't even able to count how many people died by her sword. She wished that she could bring some people back in her life though. Both of her brothers died because of her interference and she could probably never forgive herself for that. She was the only sibling left out of all three of them and it was her fault that they were dead. Borias was also gone and it was her fault as well that he died, though that was a bit of act of heroism on his part, she felt the blame was hers. He was the father of one of her children and she took him away from him not once, but twice. One day, she hoped, she would be able to redeem them all, but she also wanted to talk to them one last time. Perhaps if she wasn't so self centered and vengeful, they wouldn't have died. Toris, her elder brother, kept a secret for her for many years without her knowing and Lyceus was only a teenager when he died. She wished she could have saved them both but most of all, she wished that she wouldn't have ever tread down that awful path she took –her path of ultimate destruction –and maybe they'd be alive. She could have had better relations with her brothers, but instead she didn't feel the need to connect with either of them due to her selfishness at the time. She realized that she was wrong, very wrong and for that, she couldn't forgive herself.

As much as Gabrielle wanted Xena to forgive herself, she was unable to because she carried so much with her throughout the years. She was surrounded by people she loved of course, but sometimes, she still felt as if she were alone. The war may be over, but Xena would always be at war with herself. Even though Xena had spent half of her later life with Gabrielle, she still kept things from her. Gabrielle could be impatient with her, but there were things that she did that Gabrielle did not know of. She didn't know her entirely before she changed her ways. She was a completely different person now but before Gabrielle came into her life, she was a polar opposite of what she was now. Gabrielle only saw a small representation of who she really was and because of that, Gabrielle would never understand why Xena could never forgive herself. She knew her well, but she didn't know  _everything_.

Xena stood on one of the balconies in the large ballroom by herself, enjoying the cold air. It had stopped snowing a couple of hours ago. She enjoyed seeing everyone having a good time and was presently surprised at how quickly the Roman people seemed to like her, which was odd, but she wasn't going to question it. She stood there with her arms wrapped around her, collecting her thoughts.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and gasped, turning around she frowned at who she saw. "Long time no see," she said.

Ares grinned mischievously. "I'd say so. Look at what you've done. You finally have Rome after how many years?" he teased and his fingers trailed down her arm. She snubbed him and went to the far side of the balcony. Her short hair gently swaying in the wind. "How does it feel to finally have what you want?" he whispered in her ear.

She didn't answer him but felt him come closer to her. He had been absent for so long and now he decides to show up when she was in her deepest thought processes? What a coincidence.

"I get the feeling that you're still not happy, Xena," he hissed and her frown deepened, still not answering him. "You got what you wanted and some! You have both your kids, your precious blonde, grandchildren..." he hissed and she shot him a glare, "oh and immortality. That's the big one," he winked.

"Have you come to bother me or do you actually want something?" she said, "when will I ever be rid of you, Ares?" she smirked.

Ares frowned, "very funny, Xena. That elixir you took, I noticed that it doesn't have any effect on you anymore..." he grabbed her shoulders from behind and her body tensed. "Gabrielle used it too, but since she used it selflessly, it had no effect on her, imagine that." He grinned and she turned to face him, only inches away from his face.

"Are you going to talk my ear off?" she brushed passed him and he appeared in front of her and she gasped.

"No I have a gift for you," he said and she looked at him curiously, but still wary of his ways. A bottle appeared in his hand, "I found something to reverse your immortality," he said with a blank face. "That is...if you want it."

Xena eyed the bottle and then thought of what he did last time she took something from him. He tricked her just like he had many times before. Then she also thought that once Gabrielle was gone, she would remain here, alive and timeless. She didn't even think about that when she took the elixir in the first place, she was using her selfishness at the time and she knew it was an awful and stupid thing to do.

"Why would you give me that? Out of the kindness of your heart?" she joked.

He sighed, "just think of it as an apology...for what I've done to you in the past," he smiled kindly and pushed the bottle closer to her.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked curious to know.

"I've always wanted you Xena, but you made it clear that I could never have you." He smiled sadly and Xena raised an untrusting eyebrow at him. "If you keep your immortality, I'll still be here and maybe I can finally have you," he smirked.

Xena smirked at his enthusiasm. He was never going to stop fawning over her even if she was old and worn out, she realized. "Not in a million years," she said softly. He opened her palm and placed the bottle in her hand, closing her fingers around it.

"In a million years then," he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Xena's eyes widened and he smiled just before disappearing.

She stared at the bottle and wondered why he was being so nice, or perhaps he was just pining over her just like he had always done. If she reversed this entire spell that was on her, then she would go back to being normal, or close to being normal. But if she remained the way she was, she would live forever, without Gabrielle by her side.

Opening the bottle, which was incredibly small, she smelled it and it had no scent whatsoever. She dabbed it on her wrists and used the entire bottle with those small drops on her wrists. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain inside her abdomen and she winced, cringing at the pain. She clutched her midsection and dropped to her knees.

She breathed heavily and after a few moments the pain began to subside. She looked down at her hands and saw they had some wrinkles on them just as they did before nearly a year ago. She touched her face and felt the small wrinkles around her eyes and then began smiling, feeling more normal.

Coming to a standing position she saw Gabrielle in the entry way. Gabrielle looked at her and wondered why Xena was touching herself everywhere and had a big smile on her face. She walked closer to her then looked at her face and gasped. "Xena...what..." she saw her wrinkles around her eyes, though she always looked the same to her, she didn't appear different to her, but it was as if she went back in time...or went to the present? She looked like she had for the last ten years.

"I'm not immortal anymore," Xena said with a big grin. She never thought she'd be so happy to look like she did before all of this happened. The entire point of the elixir was to make her appear more youthful but now that she was back to her normal self, she felt so relieved.

Gabrielle frowned shaking her head, "how?" she touched her cheek.

"Ares came to me," she saw the concern in her eyes, "I don't know how or why, but he gave me something to reverse all of this."

"And you trust him?" Gabrielle frowned staring in her blue eyes.

Xena smirked slightly, "I don't think his intentions were malicious. Somehow, I believed him and...trust him," she never thought she'd say those words ever about Ares. "Only this one time, of course." She smiled.

Gabrielle looked over her body and couldn't take her eyes off of Xena's facial features. She looked like a new person, even though she wasn't, it was odd to see her like this again. She had gotten used to the youthful looking Xena for awhile now that it was strange to see her look like her normal aging self. "How do you feel?" her fingers touched her short dark locks.

"Normal," Xena said with a bit of relief. Gabrielle smiled at her as if she were seeing her for the first time in a long time. She did have everything she wanted and seeing that serenity in her eyes, she couldn't be any happier. "If I were to remain immortal then...I couldn't be with you. I'd forever remain here living alone..by myself and I just –just couldn't do that."

"I love you Xena," Gabrielle said and hugged her tightly. Xena hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, Gabrielle." She smiled warmly and pulled away from her, seeing the warmth in her green eyes. "I don't ever want to be separated from you."

Gabrielle nodded, "let's not ever be separated from one another. Promise?" Xena agreed to that. "Do you want to go back to the party? Solan and Samuel are playing a game with the Romans."

Xena rolled her eyes, "why am I not surprised?" together they walked back into the ballroom and everyone was having a really good time as the night went on. Very few people noticed Xena which she thought that was rather relaxing instead of people moving out of the way for her. She was just like everyone else right now.

* * *

They came to the middle of the room and saw Samuel and Solan leading a card game with a large amount of people. A voice came booming from the opposite side of the room, "you're playing a drinking game without me, brother?!" Allat came walking through with a big smile on his face.

Solan stood up and the crowd dispersed. "Allat?" he grinned and jumped over a sofa to come greet his friend whom he hadn't seen in such a long time. The two hugged each other and Allat pat Solan's back roughly. "What are you doing here?!" he was surprised to see him.

The Assyrian king shrugged, "your mother invited me. I always said she is a goddess among us," he winked and kissed Xena's hand. "So can I join your game or what?" he grinned. Solan lead him through the sea of people and Samuel shook his hand. He hadn't known the king for long, but obviously he was a great ally with Xena for quite some time now.

Eve sat beside Samuel and she smiled up at Allat. She tried to get up and Allat rose his hand up. "No need to get up princess," he smiled and kissed her hand softly. "When is your baby due?" he asked curiously.

Samuel held up two fingers and Allat's mouth gaped. "Xena is going to have her hands full!" he chuckled and curtly bowed his head at both of them then went to sit with Solan to join in the game.

Eve turned to Samuel, "I'm going to get some water," she whispered.

Samuel rubbed her leg gently, "you want me to get it for you?" he asked politely.

She smiled shaking her head, "no I can get it. Continue playing your game," she pat his hand and stood up slowly. He immediately got up and helped her. She smirked feeling a bit useless right now, though she didn't mind his help. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to get water," she teased. He grinned and sat back down joining into the game again, he scooted closer to Allat.

Xena and Gabrielle were mingling and Eve ran into them both. She saw her mother's face looked quite different. "Mother...you look...what happened?" she couldn't stop staring.

"It's a long story," Xena smiled and then grabbed her daughter's hand. "Where are you off to?"

"I was going to get some water, I don't feel very well," Eve said and Gabrielle linked arms with her.

"Do you want me to take you to your room?" she offered and the princess shook her head. "Are you sure? Xena and I can stay with you," she grinned slightly.

Eve pat Gabrielle's hand, "no I want you both to enjoy the party!"

"Xena?" a voice was heard from behind the three women. Cyrene smiled and Xena turned around immediately seeing her mother for the first time in such a long time. Cyrene embraced her daughter warmly. It had been far too long since she had laid eyes on her. "You look beautiful," she scanned her body and then saw her hair was short, "and you cut your hair."

Xena smirked, "not exactly." Cyrene cocked her head, not understanding what she meant. Xena waved it off, "I'm so glad you were able to make it, mother," she couldn't get the smile off her face. She felt Gabrielle nudge her in the side, "oh Gabrielle missed you too," she added.

Cyrene smiled and hugged Gabrielle tightly. "It's so nice to see you, Gabrielle! I feel like I haven't seen you both in –"

"Fifteen years?" Gabrielle said. "We've been a bit busy..." she winked towards Xena. Cyrene understood that her daughter was busy all the time but she was glad that where she was staying was a lot closer than Athens was.

Eve came to stand next to her mother and smiled at Gabrielle's and Cyrene's exchange with one another. Cyrene peered behind Gabrielle and saw Eve, her granddaughter with a shy smile. "And Eve...it's been a very long time. The last time I saw you, you were just a little girl and now look at you. A beautiful young woman you turned out to be," she winked. Eve brushed a tendril behind her ear feeling a bit shy around Cyrene. She had only met her grandmother once and that was such a long time ago and now here she was again. She didn't know what to say to her. Cyrene grabbed Eve's hands and took a good look at her. "Solan told me you were having a baby," her smile widened.

"Actually, it's two," Eve said shyly and Cyrene's eyes grew and looked over at Xena. Xena shrugged her shoulders sighing not really knowing what to say to that news. Cyrene's face was priceless, she was shocked.

"Who is the father?" Cyrene asked curiously.

"Mother..." Xena buried her face in her hand, feeling embarrassed that she would even ask that.

Eve chuckled and pointed to the middle of the ballroom, "the man in black, he's the King of Persia. His name is Samuel."

Cyrene smiled sneakily, "a Persian king?" she couldn't believe that. "He's handsome," she gathered and Xena rolled her eyes while Eve and Gabrielle stifled laughs and hid their smiles.

Samuel caught a gaggle of women looking at him and he smiled. He whispered to Allat that he would be leaving the game for now, since he lost this last round anyway. He got up and made his way over. He grinned at them all and wrapped his arm around Eve's waist, bringing her close to him. "Did you get your water?" he asked.

"I got a little distracted," Eve said gesturing to the women around her. "Samuel, this is my grandmother, Cyrene." She introduced them both.

He bowed his head curtly and kissed Cyrene's hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm sorry I haven't heard anything about you..." he admitted shyly.

Cyrene raised her eyebrows, "handsome and has manners. Good job, Eve," she winked and Eve blushed a bit. Samuel was a bit confused but simply smiled covering his puzzlement.

Xena shook her head and Gabrielle rubbed her arm chuckling under her breath. "She's  _your_  mother," she whispered.

* * *

Everyone decided to relocate to a more private area and talk there. Samuel left the women to talk together as he didn't want to be a part of that. He felt as if he was intruding on their reunion. The party went on without them throughout the night. Solan, Allat and Samuel continued to play more games with the Romans and they were enjoying it thoroughly.

Cyrene was out of the loop and had a lot to catch up on. They spent hours upon hours talking about the various wars that went on throughout the years. She had to ask a lot of questions for clarification but everything that she was told, was no big surprise. She had heard of the wars between her daughter and the Romans for decades but was surprised that she got rid of the entire empire and claimed it as her own.

Around one in the morning Xena advised everyone to leave the palace and that took a good hour or so to get everyone out. Solan and Allat were passed out on the sofa in the ballroom. Xena didn't even bother to wake them up. She found a room for her mother to stay in for the meantime. Samuel came to bed with Eve earlier than Solan and Allat were finished with the game. He had too much wine and passed out immediately still in his pants and boots, though he took off his tunic and slept without the blankets.

Not long after everyone went to bed Eve stirred in her sleep and felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She opened her eyes and winced, switching to her other side to find a more comfortable position but the pain only worsened. She let out a soft groan and cradled her womb, sitting up slowly in the bed. There were a few candles still lit that she didn't even bother blowing out before she went to sleep. The sharp stinging pain came back and she let out a loud breathy gasp.

She reached over and grabbed Samuel's arm. "Samuel..." she said and he moaned in his slumber, turning over on his side, ignoring her. The pain worsened and she moaned, "Samuel!" she shook his shoulder this time and he turned over sleepily.

Slowly he opened his eyes and rubbed his face. It wasn't morning yet, it was actually still quite dark outside and he remembered just going to bed a few hours ago. Finally his eyes adjusted to the dark candlelit room. He stared at Eve and saw her pained face. "What's wrong?" he immediately sat up now focusing on her forgetting about his wine induced headache.

She felt the pain travel through her hips and she held in her agony. "I...I want my mother," she cringed, closing her eyes trying to allow the wave of pain pass.

He sat up on his knees and felt a bit helpless, "okay, okay –I'll go get her," he hopped out of bed and didn't even bother grabbing a shirt or robe to put on.

Quickly he ran down the hallway to Xena's bedroom and he hated to disturb her and Gabrielle, he would constitute this as an emergency. He knocked on the door and there was no answer and he knocked again. He tapped his foot on the ground waiting for one of them to open the door. He heard rustling and finally heard the doorknob turn.

Xena opened the door and saw Samuel looking rather frantic. "Samuel?" she put her hand on her hip. She had just fallen asleep a few hours ago.

"It's Eve, she's –she's asking for you," he said with haste.

Xena's eyes widened and she grabbed her robe wrapping it around herself. "Gabrielle, let's go," she called out. Gabrielle yawned and saw Xena leave with Samuel. She groaned and rolled out of bed, extremely tired.

A few moments later Xena came into the room and saw Eve's pained face from afar. She came and sat next to her on the bed, brushing her long wavy hair away from her face. "Hey, Evie," she smiled touching her cheek, "I'm here." Eve smiled weakly and grabbed her mother's hand, awaiting the next wave of pain to hit her at any moment.

Gabrielle waltzed in the room and became more awake when she saw Xena sitting next to Eve. "Finally!" she said aloud and Eve looked at her incredulously. She came to the side of the bed and smiled at Eve. "I told you we'd be here for you," she winked.

Samuel looked from afar and nervously bit his fingernail, "what can I do?" he said.

Xena got up and put her hands on his shoulders gently pushing him out of the room, "you can wait outside."

He protested, "but, but I want to help..."

"And you can  _help_  by waiting outside," Xena said and pushed him out of the room closing the door. He huffed and sat down on the floor leaning against the wall to 'wait' as Xena said. He heard Eve moan loudly and he sighed, resting his head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling.

* * *

A couple of hours later Samuel was still waiting outside the door and occasionally saw Gabrielle go in out of the room. She kindly smiled at him and he continued to wait. Solan walked down the hall yawning and he saw Samuel sitting on the floor outside the room. "What are you doing?"

Samuel thumbed to the door, "they won't let me in," he frowned. "Xena told me to wait, so that's what I'm doing."

Solan looked confused then heard Eve and Xena talking to her then he finally clicked. "Ohhh," he smiled nodding his head, "yeah you're not going to go in there anytime soon, my friend." He extended his hand, "come eat something with me and Allat. No point in you waiting outside the door like that."

Samuel sighed, "no I want to stay here in case something happens."

"How long has it been?" Solan asked, kneeling down in front of the worried Persian.

"Three hours," he mumbled.

He sighed, "you'll be waiting a long time. Come on," he extended his hand again and Samuel reluctantly took it. "When my mother had Eve I waited for six hours."

Samuel's eyes widened, "six hours? My God..."

Solan smirked, "that's nothing, sometimes it takes days." He saw Samuel's eyes grow in fear and he chuckled lightly, bringing his arm around the frightened Persian.

"That's a joke, right?" he asked and Solan said nothing as they walked together to the dining room. "Solan? It's a joke, right?  _Right_?" he said and Solan smiled remaining silent.

Gabrielle came out of the room and sighed heavily as she closed the door. She was beyond exhausted and only slept for three hours. Xena asked her to get some water while she stayed with Eve. She waltzed into the dining room and saw Solan, Allat and Samuel sitting together talking among each other as they were finishing their food. Though Samuel had barely eaten anything.

Samuel turned around and saw Gabrielle. He looked hopeful and stood up. She smiled, "sorry Samuel, I'm just getting some water," she walked over to the large pitcher and picked up three glasses to take with her.

He groaned and slumped down in his chair. "When can I see her?"

Gabrielle set the glasses and pitcher onto a tray and looked to him, "when Xena says," she smiled and disappeared into the hallway again.

Allat smiled as he stabbed a piece of fruit with his fork, "best not to argue with Xena, my friend," he winked at Samuel.

Samuel folded his arms frowning at the entire situation. "I just want to see her, to see if she's okay that's all," he sighed heavily.

Solan smirked and finished the last of his food and pushed his plate away. "She's fine, don't worry about her. If something is wrong, my mother will tell you, I promise," he pat Samuel's shoulder trying to make him feel better. "Want to go spar in the atrium?" he raised an eyebrow.

Allat stood up, "it should get your mind off of things," he said and Samuel sighed then stood up to follow them outside.

* * *

Gabrielle came into the room and closed the door with her leg trying to carry the tray by herself. She set the tray down on the table next to the bed and poured water in the three glasses. She gave one glass to Xena and she handed it to Eve. Eve drank some of the water and exhaled sharply.

Xena smiled and rubbed Eve's arm. "I'm afraid I can't give anything to you for the pain just yet," she said sadly and Eve stared at her incredulously. Her pain came and went every ten minutes or so for the last four hours and she was becoming increasingly tired the more she waited through the waves of agony.

Gabrielle sat down beside the bed next to Xena. "Samuel is very worried about you," she smiled and Eve grinned weakly, nodding her head.

"Why can't I see him?" Eve asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Maybe in a little while he can, alright?" Xena said and brushed her hand across Eve's cheek softly. Eve then winced and felt the pain emerge slowly coursing through her body again. She leaned forward and gasped breathlessly. Eve reached for Xena's hand and squeezed it tightly. Xena cringed as her grip tightened more and more as the pain worsened.

Gabrielle stood up and pulled Eve's hair back away from her face. "Are you sure we can't give it to her now?" she whispered to Xena.

Xena shook her head, "not yet," she winced as Eve finally let go of her hand and slumped back against the pillows again, breathing heavily. "Do you want to hear a story?" she asked.

Eve raised an eyebrow at her mother, "not really," she inhaled sharply.

"We have ten minutes, I think you'll like to hear it," Xena smiled enticingly and Eve frowned.

* * *

Samuel threw the sword down onto the ground and breathed heavily, trying to regain his breath. He smiled as he splashed some water on his face. "I would have had you Solan if you didn't block that last blow."

Solan placed a cocky hand on his hip twirling the sword, "a move my mother taught me. Never fails!" he grinned and wiped his sweaty brow with a towel. Allat drank some much needed water and then saw someone staring at them all. Allat nudged Samuel's arm and he grunted then looked in his direction. It was his mother, Hatima, waiting at the entry way to the atrium.

He wiped his hands on his pants and came running towards her. "Mother, you're up late," he smiled and kissed both of her cheeks.

She grinned warmly at him, "I see you are having a good time," she said looking at the two behind him. Allat and Solan waved at her and she simply smiled at them. "How is Eve?" she asked.

He sighed not really wanting to get into that, "she's been in pain for four hours now. Xena and Gabrielle are with her right now."

Hatima's eyes widened, "should I go help?" she offered and Samuel shrugged his shoulders. Without another word she disappeared and Samuel threw his hands in the air becoming super frustrated.

"Is this a women's only party, or what?" he groaned and Solan came to him, patting his shoulder.

"You don't want to be in there, trust me!" he eyed him and he seemed skeptical. "When my mother was in labor with Eve I could hear her screaming from downstairs." He shuddered.

Samuel's eyes widened. He hadn't heard Eve scream yet, in fact it was really quiet, but that didn't deter him. "I still want to be with her." He walked off annoyed.

* * *

The day had come and gone and the sun was beginning to set. The snow was already falling and it was very quiet in the palace. Samuel decided to pull up a chair and sit outside the bedroom door. He saw his mother and Gabrielle go back and forth from the room to the kitchen all day. They didn't even really acknowledge him either and he continued to sit in silence. Waiting and waiting some more.

He even saw Cyrene come and join them later in the day. She didn't even come out of the room and neither did Xena. He sighed and then saw Gabrielle and his mother leave the room together and they had been gone for awhile now. The sun had set now and it was dark inside the palace minus the lit torches on the walls. His eyes were beginning to gloss over and he dozed off leaning against the back of the chair slumped over.

Xena exited the room and closed the door. Samuel jumped when he heard the door slam shut and looked up to see Xena staring down at him curiously. "Have you been waiting outside this room all day?" she smirked.

"Yes," he nodded. "How is she? Can I see her?" he stood up and Xena smiled warmly at him.

"She's doing alright, it's just sometimes...these things take time," she admitted sadly. "It's getting closer though. My mother is going to watch her and I'm going to come back in a couple of hours to check on her."

Samuel's eyes widened, "a couple of hours? There's nothing wrong with her is there?"

Xena chuckled, "you're full of questions. No there's nothing wrong with her. You can see her if you want," she smiled and his eyes lit up at that. He immediately went into the room and Xena shook her head walking off to go back to her room with Gabrielle for awhile.

He tread in and saw Cyrene sitting with Eve and he smiled at her. Eve sat up as soon as she saw Samuel. "I can stay with her for awhile," he suggested. Cyrene smirked and kissed Eve's forehead then pat his shoulder before leaving the room. He sighed and sat down on the bed next to her. "Your mother wouldn't let me in," he smirked.

Eve smiled, "I know," she reached for his hand and gripped it tightly. He smiled and kissed her hand.

"How do you feel?" he asked concerned for her.

She sighed, "mother gave me something earlier so I don't feel anything right now." She yawned, "just tired."

"I will stay with you then. You should sleep while you can," he crawled onto the bed beside her and held her hand close to him. He yawned and closed his eyes feeling tired as well.

"Samuel..." she whispered and turned to see he was already passed out. She smiled and closed her eyes to sleep a little bit, or as much as she could for now.

* * *

Xena sat in bed unable to sleep though she made sure that Gabrielle was able to sleep some. She promised she would check on Eve in a few hours to see how she was doing though she supposed that wouldn't help any. She gave her a natural sedative and hoped that would ease her pain only for a little while. She felt bad that she couldn't do anything more for her except wait with her.

Gabrielle turned on her side and opened her eye seeing Xena wide awake. She reached for her hand and grazed her fingertips over her hand. "Xena...you're still awake..." she mumbled and snuggled beneath the blankets.

"I can't sleep," she sighed heavily and rested her head against the headboard of the bed.

"Hey," Gabrielle sat up and wrapped the blanket over herself and Xena, "everything will be fine, you just need to relax."

"I'll be relaxed once this is over," Xena frowned folding her arms, feeling her nerves getting the best of her she began to scratch her arm anxiously. Gabrielle grabbed her hand and smirked up at her. Xena sighed with a weak smile. "Samuel waited outside the room all day. I finally let him in," she chuckled.

Gabrielle smiled, "he cares about her a lot."

Xena nodded, "he reminds me of Borias before I had Solan. He would constantly try and talk to me and be around me but instead of embracing him, I pushed him away. I can't even think of a time when I was ever kind to him the way he was to me..." her head hung lowly and she lowered her eyes.

"You were a different person then, Xena. I'm sure if he saw you now, he wouldn't recognize you," Gabrielle smiled and intertwined her fingers with Xena's. "You're everything he wanted you to be many years ago."

Xena sighed thinking of that. Gabrielle was right, Borias had tried to sway her long ago and turn her towards working for the greater good, but she refused. Now she thought, she was a fool back then and should have taken his offer and perhaps she wouldn't have killed thousands of innocent people and became a tyrant throughout the Western world. If she had changed her ways back then she would have a different life. She would have raised Solan with Borias there with her and lived a completely different life. She wouldn't have become an empress and ruled over Greece and Persia.

She then began to think of all the things she wouldn't have now if she had changed her ways long ago. She wouldn't have Gabrielle here with her or Eve in her life at all. She would have been happy back then but it would have been an entirely different life than what she had now and she wouldn't trade any of it. It wasn't the right time back then and she learned much later, later than expected, but she learned and she had the people she loved and cared about around her right now, in this moment.

"I wish..." Xena began and felt a sting inside her, "I could see him and apologize to him. I wish I could see all of those that were once close to me –Lyceus and Toris –and tell them...I'm sorry," she sighed.

Gabrielle rest her head against Xena's shoulder, "and one day you will. I'm sure they have forgiven you, Xena."

"Really? You think so?" Xena looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"I know so," Gabrielle smiled and Xena grinned slightly at her confident attitude.

Suddenly they both heard a loud yell and it wasn't coming from Eve. Xena and Gabrielle looked at one another then jumped out of bed to go see what was going on down the hall.

* * *

Samuel breathed heavily as he gawked up at the blonde woman standing before him and Eve. Eve was jolted awake once she heard Samuel's loud scream and her heart raced. She frowned and hit him in the shoulder. "What is the matter with you?!" she yelled at him and felt a sharp pain in her side and she groaned.

"Who the Hell are you?!" Samuel asked the blonde woman as she had a very big smile on her face.

Aphrodite smirked, "You must be Samuel! I wondered when I was going to get to meet you," she winked. "I just wanted to check on Evie," she smiled and ran her fingers through Eve's hair. Samuel's eyes were very large and couldn't stop staring at her.

Xena and Gabrielle barged into the room. "What is going on –" Xena frowned and relaxed once she saw who was here. "Aphrodite..." she grumbled.

"Aphrodite?!" Samuel said adding to his shock. "As in the  _goddess_?" he asked and Eve smiled weakly at his expression. He leaned in towards Eve, "you know goddesses?" he whispered.

"Hello, I'm right here!" Aphrodite stood straight and placed her hands on her hips sassily. He blinked up at her and she smiled, "you're kind of dense aren't you?" she winked and Samuel was speechless.

Xena pushed passed Aphrodite and the goddess gasped. "You can't just pop in anywhere you like, Aphrodite," she sat beside Eve and checked her vitals.

"Yes I can!" the goddess folded her arms in a pouty manner. "I can check up on Eve whenever I'd like," she lifted her chin and Xena rolled her eyes. Gabrielle came to her side and tapped her shoulder. The goddess gasped, "Gabrielle!" she hugged her tightly and Gabrielle was gasping for air. "This is like deja vu when I came to see Xena when she was in labor with Eve, remember?!"

Gabrielle nodded, "I...remember," she choked and the goddess pulled away, now she was finally able to breathe. Eve let out an ear piercing scream and Samuel's eyes widened even more so, now he was scared. Aphrodite and Gabrielle cringed.

Xena stood up, "Samuel I think you should leave," she asked and he began to crawl out of the bed until Eve grabbed his hand.

"No!" she said breathlessly, "I want him to stay," she frowned up at her mother and Xena sighed, lacing her hands together she stared firmly at Eve.

"Come on, Xena, let the poor boy stay," Aphrodite smiled and winked towards Gabrielle. Gabrielle smiled hiding a smile.

Xena inwardly growled, "fine." She mumbled.

"I'll make sure to keep Eris away from here," Aphrodite said and disappeared in a flash. Samuel blinked, not sure exactly what he had just seen.

Eve heard that her eyes too widened, " _Eris_? What is she talking about?" she panicked and Xena sat beside her brushing her hair away from her face.

"Nothing, don't focus on that, just focus on  _them_ , alright?" she smiled and Eve's breathing slowed to a more steady pace now, nodding at her mother.

Gabrielle came to her side and squeezed Xena's shoulder. Xena looked at her with worry in her eyes and she grinned weakly at her, hoping for the best.


	35. Chapter 35

**AN: just a little bit of God chaos, you know, the usual ;)**

Chapter 35

_Mount Olympus_

Aphrodite popped in after she just visited Eve. She saw Eris pacing around talking, or rather yelling at Ares for no good reason. Eris turned around and irately attacked her. The love goddess gasped and shoved the Goddess of Discord to the other side of the room with a simple push of her palm.

"You should work on your anger management, Eris!" she snubbed. The brunette goddess got up and growled at her blonde sister. "Why are you so upset, huh?" she smirked.

Eris blew hair out of her face and came towards her then Ares pulled her back firmly. She glared at him and he frowned. "What is your deal, anyway? Why do you want Eve to suffer because you're unhappy?" he smiled.

"I'm not unhappy! Those children are abomination! I should have gotten rid of them early on," she smirked and Aphrodite rolled her eyes.

"Xena would kill you," Ares said.

Eris chuckled, "and  _how_  would she do that? Mister, I gave her an elixir to reverse her immortality," she smugly grinned.

"She would find a way, believe me," he smirked and she scoffed heavily. "Nothing is going to happen to us! You can't stop the process anyway," he folded his arms.

Eris came forward to the seeing pool and waved her hand over it. She saw Xena hovering over her daughter and Eve moaning in agony. She slammed her fist on the edge of the pool and Aphrodite grabbed the goddess's hand. "If you don't go near her, I will kill you before Xena even tries." She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, the goddess of love is going to kill  _me_?" she laughed aloud. "That's hilarious." She sighed and placed a hand on her hip, "listen I know you're Eve's godmother or whatever you want to call yourself and this is your fault!"

Aphrodite frowned and shoved the goddess onto the floor. She squeezed her fist closed and Eris felt her throat closing up. Ares raised his eyebrows quite surprised to see his loving sister act so violently. "I gave Eve the life that was taken from her before she was even born. I would do anything for her and that includes getting rid of you," she squeezed her fist tighter and tighter and Eris choked and began coughing.

"Aphrodite..." Ares said and saw Eris dying right before his eyes. "Aphrodite!" he yelled and finally caught her attention. "If you kill her, Zeus will come after us both. Stop it," he said calmly and slowly she relaxed her fist and Eris coughed violently, grasping her aching throat. He came to his sister's side and stared into her blue eyes. "I've never seen you act like that before..." he whispered.

Aphrodite lifted her chin, "I can be vengeful when I want to be," she smiled giddily.

Eris stood slowly and inhaled sharply. "You will see...you'll see what you have unleashed onto us all, I swear!" she waved her hand and a pile of snow appeared in her palm. She smiled turning towards her siblings. She blew against her palm and a flurry of snowflakes surrounded them all. Aphrodite and Ares shielded their eyes and were blown onto the ground. Ares growled and stood up and saw Eris had disappeared though her laugh echoed in the Olympian Halls. The small snowstorm stopped and Aphrodite stood up fixing her hair.

"Oh she's gotta go, she ruined my hair," Aphrodite frowned and Ares sighed deeply.

* * *

Eve breathed heavily and winced in pain, clutching onto the sheets. She heard her mother talking to her as well as Gabrielle, but she couldn't hear anything they were saying. She opened her eyes and saw them speaking to her, but she was in a daze, staring at them both blankly. Another wave of pain hit her and she moaned loudly.

Samuel held onto her hand and she gripped it tightly. He soon began to regret that decision as he felt his knuckles pop in multiple places. He cringed but tried to ignore it. Suddenly a large gust of wind came in through the windows and the wind blew violently into the room, letting all the snow in.

Xena frowned and nudged to Gabrielle to close the windows. She went to the windows and closed them shut and looked to see a blizzard outside. Her eyes widened and thought she had never seen a storm like this before when she was in Rome. She didn't know Rome was capable of having snow storms like this.

"Eve, look at me," Xena said and her daughter ignored her, still in a daze. She pat her cheek, "Eve," she frowned and snapped her fingers in front of her eyes but got no response.

Samuel saw that Eve was becoming super unresponsive and he looked to Xena, "what's wrong with her?"

"I don't know," Xena said in a hushed voice, not feeling super confident right now. Eve closed her eyes and saw her cheeks were extremely pale. She lolled her head on the pillows and Xena's eyes widened and she stuck her hand under the sheets. Samuel watched her intently and Xena frowned and pulled her hand out and saw blood on her fingers.

"What is that..." Samuel asked, becoming extremely worried now.

Gabrielle came running beside Xena and saw her fingers stained with blood. Her eyes widened and she looked calmly at Samuel, "hey Samuel could you do something for me?" she asked kindly trying not to cause him more panic.

"But, what's wrong with her?" he said and Gabrielle pulled on his arm away from the bed.

"Nothing, could you go get your mother for us? It would be greatly appreciated," she smiled and pat his shoulder. He said nothing and left the room in a hurry to get Hatima. She returned to Xena and leaned over her shoulder, "what are you going to do?" she asked.

Xena grabbed a sharp dagger and held it over the flame of the candle on the bedside table. "Act quickly," she removed the blade from the flame and wiped it down with a cool cloth.

Hatima came into the room with her hair down and wearing a nightgown, it was the middle of the night after all. She told her son to stay outside of the room in case something happened. She saw Eve was knocked out and Xena had a knife in her hand. "What's going on?" she asked and sat on the bed close to Eve. She lifted her head and brushed her hair away from her sweaty face.

Xena lifted the sheets up and moved Eve's legs out of the way. "You should hold her down," she instructed and Hatima nodded, holding one of Eve's arms down and Gabrielle held her other one down. Eve breathed slowly and was still passed out. Xena held her breath and cut into Eve's skin and she immediately woke up screaming in agonizing pain.

* * *

Samuel's eyes widened once he heard Eve screaming loudly. He turned his head and saw Solan running towards him with baited breath. "I can hear her all the way from the other side of the palace!" he said and then heard Eve scream again. "What's going on in there?" he asked.

Samuel shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know but my mother told me to wait out here." As they waited together the infinite yelling ceased and they put their ears up against the door and heard Xena firmly talking to Hatima and Gabrielle.

* * *

Hatima put a cloth in Eve's mouth and now she was fully aware of the excruciating pain coursing through her body. Eve's heart raced and she saw her mother talking to Gabrielle calmly and saw her hand her a bloodied dagger. Eve's eyes widened and Hatima smiled and turned her face towards her. "Don't be scared," she said in a calm voice and Eve slowly began to relax. She felt a hand close to her leg and her body tensed up and saw her mother in front of her.

"Eve, I want you to look at me," Xena said and Eve looked directly in her eyes, "focus on me and only me. Can you do that?" she asked and Eve nodded her head. Xena smiled, "good," she placed a hand on Eve's knee and breathed in, "I want you to push as best as you can, alright?" she said calmly and Eve nodded her head once more.

* * *

Samuel and Solan had their ears glued to the door and heard nothing. "I can't hear anything," Solan said and tried to listen intently.

"Perhaps she's dead," Eris came waltzing in behind them and both of them turned around to see the goddess with an eerie smile on her lips.

Solan rolled his eyes, "oh come on!" he griped and unsheathed a sword from his hip that he always kept with him and pointed it at her. "Get out of here, Eris. You're not welcome here."

She chuckled, "how cute." She took a step closer and Solan pointed the blade at her refusing to move. "You and your mortal weapons," with a fling of her hand she knocked the sword out of Solan's wrist. He gasped and began to back away.

As she was moving closer she felt something stab her and gasped, she looked down and saw a sword stuck inside her torso. Allat stood behind her and she turned her head angrily over her shoulder. She pushed him aside and pushed the sword out of her body. Samuel's eyes widened and thought he was dreaming. All of these goddesses just appearing out of nowhere, what is happening?

"My God..." Samuel whispered and stood behind Solan, backing up against the wall.

Eris let out an ear piercing scream and the torches flames blew out and glass shattered inside the palace. She broke the sword in half and threw it aside on the floor. " _You_!" she pointed at Samuel, "the believer in the One God!" she hissed. "Don't you see it is all a lie! If there is only one God then why are there many of us Olympians left?!" she growled and he stared at her blankly.

"Why are you so afraid?" Samuel asked curiously.

Solan frowned, "don't answer her! She's just going to get more angry!" he growled. Allat stood and held his aching side.

"I told you to stay away from her!" Aphrodite appeared and Allat blinked. Two goddesses in one place, how unusual, he thought. "And you ruined my hair," she frowned and stepped forward throwing the goddess into a wall with a wave of her hand and a few tapestries fell off the wall.

* * *

Eve looked to the wall and saw a statue fall over and Xena spoke to her, "Eve, no! Concentrate on me, remember?" she said and Eve kept looking at the door. "Eve!" she yelled and Eve turned her face back towards her mother.

Gabrielle knelt down and held Eve's hand warmly, "you're doing a great job, Eve," she encouraged her and Eve nodded and moaned in pain softly, still the cloth in her mouth.

Xena stared at Eve warmly, "you're almost there, I just need you to push one more time," she said and that seemed to make Eve feel a bit better. Eve groaned and squeezed both Gabrielle's and Hatima's hands. Xena smiled, "yes, that's it," she said softly and finally heard a cry and Eve threw her head back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Xena held the small baby in her hands and wiped it off with a cloth and Hatima leaned forward and took the infant and wrapped it a blanket. "A boy," Xena smiled and Eve lifted her head to see Hatima holding the boy in her arms.

Gabrielle's eyes lit up and pat Eve's hand, "one down, another one to go!" she said enthusiastically and Eve almost forgot about that and the feeling of joy left her instantly.

* * *

Eris stood up and saw a gold 'blood' trickling out of her mouth. She wiped her lips and growled at the goddess. She stopped as soon as she heard an infant crying.

Samuel's eyes widened and he smiled, then saw the irate expression on Eris' face and his smile disappeared.

"No!" Eris sneered and turned to Aphrodite. "This is all your fault!" she yelled and the blonde goddess shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly.

"Well, well, well. Looks like I'm still alive," she checked her body and saw she was fully intact. "And you're afraid of two babies, how stupid," she rolled her eyes.

Eris frowned, "you don't know what you're doing!" she yelled. "Eve and her little abominations will end us all!" she cried out, not understanding why nobody on Mount Olympus believed her."The Fates said so!"

Aphrodite laughed aloud, "The Fates? You believe those old hags?" she scoffed. "They don't know anything! Just ask Ares," she chuckled softly.

Samuel blinked, "abominations?" he said confusedly.

"Don't take it personally my friend, these gods are crazy," Solan whispered to him. "Go home, Eris!" he yelled and the goddess turned to him.

"Ah, the former Roman successor! Brother of Eve, the child your mother did not want," she grinned deviously.

"Don't listen to her, Solan!" Allat yelled from behind the goddess and Eris growled and attempted to throw him aside until Aphrodite intervened and stopped her attack, preventing her arm from moving. Eris huffed and tried moving her arm but it was like she was paralyzed.

"Stop it!" Eris yelled and grabbed her arm trying to move it herself, but it wasn't working.

Aphrodite sighed and began buffing her nails, "no," she giggled. "Your prophecy is a lie, Eris. Now you can tell all of your wannabe friends on Mount Olympus that you got your ass handed to you by the goddess of love," she raised an eyebrow and finally let the hold of Eris' hand go and the brunette goddess held her hand.

* * *

Eve pushed as hard as she could until her mother put her hand up. She breathed heavily and looked concerned glancing over at Gabrielle for comfort. Gabrielle winked at her and kissed her hand gently. Xena smirked and wiped her hands on a cloth and stared into Eve's worried eyes. "Stubborn," she said, "must be a girl," she teased and Eve narrowed her eyebrows unhappily at her, not enjoying her jokes at this moment. Xena rolled up her sleeves, "focus on me," she repeated for the third time. Eve nodded and readied herself.

Suddenly the door burst open and both Solan and Samuel came flying into the room crashing on each other, on the floor. Eve leaned forward and Xena turned around to see both of them. Eve began mumbling something and Xena pat her leg gently, "Eve, no, look at me, forget about them," she said in the midst of all the chaos.

"I'm going to kill her!" Solan growled and ran out of the room with Samuel running behind him.

Allat smiled nervously at the door, "ladies," he bowed to them and saw Eve's wide worried eyes. "Nothing to see here, we got it handled," he winked then closed the door and Eve blinked, shifting in the bed until she moaned in agony.

Xena pat Eve's leg again, "look at  _me_!" she said firmly and finally got her daughter's attention. "I need you to focus, you're half way done, okay?" she smiled warmly and Eve sighed, bracing herself.

* * *

Solan picked up his sword and came at the Goddess of Chaos and drove the blade into her torso completely unaffected, of course, much to his disappointment. A bright light appeared and Ares showed him in the middle of the fight. "You too?" he griped as he stared at Ares.

"Relax, blondie I'm on your side," Ares held his hand up and then placed his hands on Eris' shoulders and head butted her and she felt onto the ground, groaning in pain. "You really gotta stop with this silly fantasy of yours," he shook his head at the pained goddess.

Eris stood up holding her forehead and she growled at Ares. "Why are you on their side?! They are mortals, you are one of us!" she waved her hand and shoved Samuel into a wall and his nose began to bleed. He groaned and held onto his nose. "He is a believer in the One God, Ares!"

Ares laughed, "yeah okay so what? We're still here, aren't we?" A loud cry of an infant was heard and everyone stopped and listened in silence. Ares patted himself down and smiled, "still here!" he teased. He grabbed Eris and saw a shocked yet horrified look on her face. "Gotta go," he frowned and disappeared with Eris strapped unwillingly to his side.

Aphrodite was left and saw that Eris had banged them up pretty badly. Solan's arm was bleeding and Samuel probably had a broken nose and Allat had a head wound, but they looked pretty relieved. "Kids," she rolled her eyes and smiled before disappearing into thin air.

Solan sighed a sigh of relief and dropped his sword. He breathed heavily then looked to Samuel who was on the ground with blood all over his hand. "Oh man..." he knelt down and ripped off a piece of his own tunic and dabbed his nose. Samuel winced at the subtle touch. "Are you okay?" Samuel nodded and waved his aid off.

Allat smiled and wrapped his arm around his Greek brother, "we must do this again some time!" he chuckled.

"I'd rather not," Samuel said in a muffled voice as he covered his nose with the torn tunic.

* * *

Xena swaddled the baby, "and a girl, as I thought," she smiled and held the baby in her arms.

Gabrielle wiped Eve's forehead off and took the cloth out of her mouth then took the sheets out of from under Eve and threw them in a basket nearby. Eve sat up and winced, feeling all the after aches and soreness in her body. Eve looking at the small baby in her mother's arms, "I want to hold her," she stretched her arms out and Xena came over and gently handed the baby over to her. Eve's eyes lit up and a big smile appeared on her lips as she stared at the child in her arms. She glanced over and saw Hatima holding the boy in her arms and he moved his small fists, letting out a big yawn.

"He's exhausted," Hatima chuckled lightly.

Samuel knocked and opened the door, "can I come in now?" he said with a smile and uncovered his bloodied nose, although that didn't seem to matter right now. Xena smirked and he walked in and saw his mother holding one baby and Eve holding the other. He sat on the bed and looked at both of them. "Wow," his eyes going back and forth between both babies. "So who is who?" he grinned.

Hatima covered the baby in her arms, "a boy," she smiled and he nodded his head.

"And, a girl," Eve said looking down at the baby in her arms. Samuel's eyes widened and his grin did as well.

"She was really stubborn," Xena said folding her arms. Eve rolled her eyes giving her mother a playful glare, squinting her eyes.

Hatima stood up, "here Samuel, this is  _your_  child," she handed the baby to him and he was almost afraid to hold him. He scooted closer to Eve and held him in his arms very carefully. He stared down at him and saw he was beginning to cry and the king began to panic.

" _Relax_ ," Xena said and his body relaxed once she said that.

Eve frowned and reached to the side touching Samuel's face. "What happened to your nose?" he hissed as she touched his nose. "Sorry."

"It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later.." he smiled at her and she nodded apprehensively at him. "I bet you're extremely tired."

Eve sighed, "that's an understatement." She smiled.

* * *

Hatima decided to stay with Eve and Samuel while Xena and Gabrielle decided to see what had happened in the middle of this chaos. Xena saw Solan and Allat talking quietly to each other in the middle of the hallway. Solan turned and smiled, "everything went well?" he asked.

Xena nodded, "yes, but what happened with you two?" she pointed to his arm and Allat's head.

"Olympians," Allat said casually and Gabrielle raised an eyebrow.

"Xena!" Cyrene was heard down the hall screaming her daughter's name out and everyone turned to see what was going on. More chaos, of course, that's what we all need, Xena thought. Gabrielle and Xena ran to the room Cyrene was staying in and Xena swung open the door. She saw her mother on the bed and she pointed to Assad who was standing at the end of the bed.

Gabrielle laughed out loud and Cyrene frowned, "what is so funny?! I tried to leave the room because I heard a lot of commotion outside, but...but this cat! He wouldn't let me leave!"

Xena smiled, "Assad," she said and the feline turned his head towards her. She snapped her fingers and he jumped off the bed and came to her side in between her and Gabrielle. "He was protecting you," she smirked.

Cyrene nodded her head slowly, "oh is that what he was doing?" she said in disbelief.

"That's Eve's cat," Gabrielle said and scratched Assad behind his ears and he leaned against her leg, purring loudly.

"I see," Cyrene finally stepped off the bed and was wary of the large black leopard. "You let Eve keep that as a  _pet_?" she eyed her daughter.

Xena shrugged her shoulders sighing heavily, "she really likes him, I couldn't say no to her," she smiled and came to her mother linking arms with her. "Eve finally had the twins. Hatima, Samuel's mother, is with them now."

Cyrene smiled completely forgetting about the so called protective cat, "I want to see them!" she smiled and Xena nodded leading her out of the room.

"Gabrielle could you take her –" Xena hated to ask more from her. Gabrielle nodded and linked arms with Cyrene walking down the hallway. Xena now turned her attention to Allat and Solan whom both had sheepish grins on their faces. "Now...I want to know everything," she folded her arms.

In the atrium Xena sat across from Solan and Allat and listened to the entire story they told in unison. She nodded her head, "so Eris came here spewing all kinds of hatred and then Aphrodite showed up?"

Solan nodded, "yeah she really kicked her ass!" he smiled and Xena raised an eyebrow. "Next time we have a war I'm on Aphrodite's side from now on," he joked and Xena sighed.

Allat interjected, "Ares showed up too and took Eris with him. She kept talking about the 'One God' over and over again, yelling at Samuel." He rubbed his beard and Solan nodded. Xena narrowed her eyes and leaned forward in the chair.

"One God?" she wanted to clarify and Allat nodded. "What did she say about this One God?"

"She said that Eve and her children would be the end of all the Olympians," Allat began, "and was pretty upset at Samuel because he is a believer in the One God, whatever that means."

"Isn't he Zoroastrian?" Solan asked, quirking his mouth.

Allat nodded, "yes but they believe in only one supreme deity, unlike the Greeks and Romans that believe in multiple deities. They say there is a Heaven and a Hell, kind of like Hades and the Elysian Fields."

Xena thought that was very interesting that Eris decided to target Samuel and Eve together because of this One God concept. She collected her thoughts to herself for a few minutes and tapped her fingers on the armrests. "But they are not like the Israelites," she said aloud.

Solan then turned to Allat, "so do you believe in this one supreme being too?"

Allat smiled, "no, we Assyrians have a religion similar to the Greeks and Romans. We have multiple deities too, although they don't seem as intrusive or destructive as the Greek Gods..." he said scratching the back of his neck rethinking the encounter they had with Eris, Aphrodite and Ares earlier. "The Persians used to believe in our religion but they moved away from it in the last few hundred years and converted to Zoroastrianism." He sighed and then said, "the Persians and surrounding territories now are Zoroastrian, they believe everyone should convert."

"And that worries the Olympians," Xena interrupted. "Perhaps that is why the Greeks and Persians never got along," she smirked slightly. "The Olympians are afraid they will become obsolete like what happened to the gods in Persia and Filistine..."

"Correct," Allat nodded, "but," he began slowly, "that doesn't explain why she was so angry about Eve and her children..." he frowned thinking that over and thought it was completely ridiculous.

"I'll have to ask Samuel more about this...later," Xena stood up now finding all of this information extremely valuable, she was quite tired and really needed to sleep a bit before Eve called for her again.

* * *

Later in the evening Xena was sitting in the room holding one of the babies in her arms while Eve was asleep. Gabrielle held the boy in her arms sitting next to Xena. Samuel was also passed out next to Eve and they'd been asleep for the last few hours.

Gabrielle looked down at the baby in her arms and smiled watching him sleep soundly, "he looks like Eve, doesn't he?" she whispered to Xena.

Xena peered over and smiled, "yes he does," she brought her attention back to the squirming baby in her arms and she wrapped the blanket tighter around her face and she nestled into the warm blanket. "She looks a bit like Eve and Samuel," she said in a hushed voice and Gabrielle nodded her head.

"They look the same!" she smiled and looked down at the baby again. "Did they choose names for them yet?" she wondered.

Xena shook her head, "I don't think so, they've been asleep," she chuckled looking at both Samuel and Eve passed out together on the bed. Suddenly the baby opened her eyes and Xena looked down smiling widely at her. The small infant in her arms blinked and looked around at her new surroundings, her eyes adjusting to the dim-lit room. "Well, hello," she whispered and the baby kept staring up at her with her big blue eyes. "Your mother is asleep, so you're stuck with me for now," she teased.

Gabrielle peered over and saw the girl's eyes staring up at Xena intensely. "Lots of excitement over there, this guy is still asleep," she smirked. "She's not even scared of you!"

Xena turned her head and frowned, "what is that supposed to mean?" she asked playfully.

"You know what I mean," Gabrielle chuckled and she eyed her cautiously, "you can't hit me, I have a baby," she teased and Xena smirked turning her attention back to the curious child in her arms. "She's so cute, I want to hold her!"

Xena sighed and switched babies with Gabrielle. She held the sleeping boy in her arms and Gabrielle smiled looking at the girl in her arms.

Eve's eyes fluttered open and she saw her mother and Gabrielle holding both babies in their arms. She sat up and winced, still feeling incredibly sore. Xena looked at her and smiled, "you're awake," she said softly.

"I'm sorry I was just really tired..." Eve yawned and sat up against the pillows.

"Don't be sorry, we're enjoying this," Gabrielle said and Eve smirked lightly. The princess stretched out her arms and Xena stood up carefully handing off the baby to her.

Xena turned around and saw Gabrielle in awe with the baby. "I don't think you're going to get Gabrielle away from her..." she joked. She sat down and stared at Eve as she held the baby naturally in her arms. "So, have you thought of names for them?"

Eve nodded, "Luca," she smiled and looked over at Gabrielle holding her daughter, "and Layla."

Xena smiled nodding her head, "Greek and Persian," she gathered by the chosen names. "Light and Night," she smirked and Eve nodded. Luca, a Greek name meaning light and Layla, a Persian name, meaning night. Very clever, Xena thought.

"Those are nice names. I'm guessing Samuel came up with Layla?" Gabrielle asked.

"Well actually, his mother suggested it. She said it would be a perfect fit," Eve said.

Xena smiled, "I'd say so," she looked over and saw Samuel finally waking up as he heard them talking. He rubbed his face and she smiled at him.

"Whoa, it's a party in here, what did I miss?" he yawned and looked over to see baby Luca in Eve's arms. He smiled and touched his face gently with his finger. "He's  _still_  asleep?" he whispered and Eve nodded.

"Gabrielle and I should leave you two alone," Xena stood up and Gabrielle was reluctant to leave, "Gabrielle..." she urged.

Gabrielle sighed, "fine, fine," she came around to the other side of the bed and handed Layla off to Samuel.

Xena grabbed Gabrielle's arm and began pulling her away, "come on Gabrielle, you can see them later," she smiled and the blonde sighed, leaving with her.

As soon as they left Eve and Samuel started chuckling at Gabrielle's disappointment about leaving.


	36. Chapter 36

**AN: it's always fun when Xena tells stories, or is it? ;) thank you for reading along.**

Chapter 36 – _Shahanshah and Shahazada Part I_

Six Months Later

Samuel and Solan decided to watch the twins while Eve spent most of her time with Xena, Gabrielle and Hatima today. Hatima suggested that she and Gabrielle work together to plan for a wedding, a long awaited wedding, everyone thought, but this was much better now. Xena didn't seem too interested in it like all the other women were, but she stood on the side giving her daughter the support she wanted. In some respect, Eve wasn't like Xena at all but more like Gabrielle. While Xena hated shopping, fancy clothing and jewelry, Eve loved all of those things like Gabrielle did.

Solan picked up Layla off the floor and sat her down propped up against some pillows, "alright, squirt," he sat down beside her, "you're going to stay right here and don't move!" he smiled.

Samuel smirked, "yeah right," he held Luca in his lap as he casually played with Samuel's boot laces. He saw Layla beginning to crawl towards him completely and expectedly disobeying Solan. "I don't think she is listening to you," he chuckled and Layla came to his boot and rolled over on her stomach, smiling up at her brother. Luca began whimpering and reached out to his sister and Samuel sighed, putting Luca down on the floor beside Layla.

"Those two are inseparable," Solan shook his head as he saw Luca pulling on his sister's sleeve.

"Tell me about it," Samuel said and then Luca hit Layla in the face and she began crying loudly. "Alright, that's enough play time," he scooped her up in his arms as he cried on his shoulder. "You should really stop before your mother comes out here and yells at me again," he said to her and walked down the hallway, "or even worse, her mother," he smiled.

Solan laid down beside Luca and pointed his finger at the baby, "you shouldn't hit girls, Luca, it's not very nice," and Luca began giggling and Solan stared at him firmly, "it's not funny!" he smiled softly and the boy grabbed his finger tightly. "Brothers are supposed to protect their sisters, so next time, don't punch her in the face, okay?" he smiled and Luca screamed loudly with glee. Solan's eyes widened, "holy crap," he picked up Luca in his arms and apparently he thought it was funny to laugh loudly close to his ear and Solan cringed.

* * *

He walked to his mother's room and knocked on the door. "I have a very happy baby with me," he said and opened the door to see Gabrielle and Hatima talking with Eve about the wedding and Xena looked incredibly bored but soon smiled as she saw Solan with Luca. She stood up and came towards them. Xena lifted Luca from Solan's hold and rested him on her hip.

Luca grabbed Xena's hair, which had grown a lot in the last six months which she was glad. She smiled down at him, "I didn't wear earrings today, sorry," she saw the look of disappointment on his face but her hair seemed to suffice. "Thank you for watching them, Solan. Where is Samuel?" she wondered.

Solan smiled sheepishly, "well, he's with Layla right now. Luca punched her in the face and she wasn't very happy about it," he shrugged.

Xena's mouth gaped and she stared into Luca's bright blue eyes, "you can't do that," she said seriously and then he started chewing on her hair, "it's not very nice, you know?" she said firmly and he nestled his head against her chest playing with the jewels on her gown. She smiled and grabbed his small hand.

"That's what I told him!" Solan smirked folding his arms. "Well, I'll let you get back to..." he looked at the other three women, "to whatever you were doing," he winked as she rolled her eyes and he left the room.

Xena came to join the rest of the women and Eve lifted her head and saw her mother carrying Luca. A big smile came to her and Xena handed Eve her child and she set him in her lap. She ran her hand over Luca's dark hair and flipped through the parchments. He grabbed one and threw it aside. "You were good for Solan, right?" she looked at him and he smiled at her then she kissed the top of his head.

Xena sat down in a chair resting her cheek on her hand, "so finally, you will get married next week. How does that feel?" she smiled.

Eve grinned, "it's taken us a long time to get to where we are now," she said. Luca leaned back against Eve and toyed with her long wavy hair, now almost reaching her waist.

Samuel came into the room and finally was able to put Layla down for a nap after she stopped crying. He looked at Eve and stared at Luca sitting casually in her lap. "If you don't mind, I need to take him," he smiled gently at all the women now staring at him.

Eve pulled her hair away from her son and she pointed at Samuel, "look, who is that?" she smiled and Luca giggled lightly. Samuel smiled and picked him up and he began whimpering softly, reaching for his mother.

"Yeah I know, you want to be with the ladies," he smirked and Xena stood up with her arms stretched out.

"I can take him," she smiled sweetly and he sighed handing him off to her. This was a good excuse to get away from all this unnecessary fussing over the wedding that they had been going over for months now and she was bored.

* * *

She left the room and walked down the hall "don't cry," she said to him and wiped his tears off his cheek. "Your mother is busy right now, but you saved me from boredom," she touched his nose and he stopped crying, sniffling softly and stared into her eyes. "See? Nothing to cry about, right?" she smiled and he yawned resting his head against her chest.

Xena came into the twins' room and saw Layla sound asleep. She closed the door quietly and Luca was still wide awake, clinging onto her gown. She tried to put him down in the bed next to his sister but he began to cry. She sighed and lifted him up back into her arms and he stopped crying. "It's going to be like that today?" she inwardly groaned and sat down in a chair, "fine," she smiled and brushed her hair behind her shoulders. She adjusted him in her arms and he stared up at her with his big blue eyes and she brushed a few tendrils away from his face. "You're going to have to fall asleep eventually," she whispered and he smiled at her as he began chewing on his fingers.

The longer she stared at him the more he reminded her of Eve when she was a baby and she was quite difficult when it came to nap time up until she was about four years old, then she saw Eve fall asleep in the strangest places in the palace and in the strangest positions too. One time she found Eve asleep on a chair upside down with her hair touching the ground.

* * *

Xena sat near the window with Eve in her arms and she had been trying to get her to fall asleep for the last four hours but every time she put her down, she would start wailing so loudly she was forced to stay with her. Xena felt her own eyes become glued open, and she was incredibly tired constantly waking up every night at odd hours every other day. She thought this was much harder than going to war and being sleep deprived.

Gabrielle came into the room with a warm blanket, "I got the blanket," she sighed and saw Eve wide awake in Xena's arms. "She's still awake? By the gods this child never sleeps!" she was becoming frustrated as well because whenever Xena got up, so did she. As she said, she would help Xena whenever she needed.

"Gabrielle, I'm going insane," Xena stared at her with wide eyes and Gabrielle saw that she was beyond tired. The blonde smiled and took baby Eve from her. She began to cry and Gabrielle wrapped her in the warm blanket. Xena sighed lolling her head back against the chair almost feeling like she needed to cry too as she listened to her daughter crying so loudly.

"Why are you crying?" she smiled and touched Eve's cheeks gently, "your mother is over there, see?" she turned and Eve looked at Xena and slowly her whimpering began to stop. She wiped her tears away from her cheeks with the blanket. The five month old looked up at Gabrielle breathing slowly, and she was about to start crying again. "No, no!" Gabrielle said firmly, "your mother is very tired and you are too, don't act like you aren't." And Eve stopped.

Slowly Eve closed her eyes and she yawned, stretching her small arms in the blanket. Gabrielle held her breath and put Eve in her crib, swaddling her in the warm blanket. Xena came to the crib and looked to see her daughter finally asleep after hours of trying to settle down.

"How did you do that?" Xena asked, in complete awe of how Gabrielle was able to put Eve asleep so easily.

Gabrielle smiled and rubbed Xena's arm. "She just needs to understand that she can fall asleep without you holding her," she whispered. "She loves you," she rested her head against Xena's shoulder and Xena smiled tiredly, so joyful that Eve had finally fallen asleep.

Solan came into the room and he was about to say something and Xena shushed him. He covered his mouth and came to the crib to see his baby sister sleeping. The fifteen year old grinned, "she finally passed out, huh?" he whispered.

"Thank the gods," Gabrielle said with a slight chuckle.

"She's so cute," Solan leaned over the crib watching his sister sleep soundly. "She's not so bad when she's not crying and stuff," he smiled. "why can't she be like this all the time?" he joked.

Gabrielle shrugged, "she'll grow out of it, right Xena?" she looked over and saw Xena slumped over the crib, asleep standing up. Solan blinked and Gabrielle stifled a laugh.

"Man, Eve really took it out of her, didn't she?" Solan whispered and nudged Gabrielle in the arm playfully.

"Would you help her?" she asked and he nodded, clearing his throat he tapped his mother's shoulder.

"Mother," he whispered in her ear and she opened her eyes immediately standing up straight, completely wired. "You should go to bed," he smiled and she ran her fingers through her hair and nodded.

* * *

Xena smiled as she looked out the window seeing the bright sun shining into the room. Coming out of her daze she looked down and saw Luca sleeping in her arms soundly. She stood up and gently laid him down in his bed next to Layla and covered him with a blanket. He squirmed a bit and yawned, stretching his arms over his head.

Gabrielle came into the room and Xena put a finger over her lips and Gabrielle smiled, being as quiet as possible she tread closer to the cribs. "You finally got him to sleep?" she whispered.

Xena nodded, "Yes, now let's get out of here before he wakes up," she smiled and quickly left the room with Gabrielle trailing behind her. She closed the door quietly and Solan came up to them.

"Hey, you two!" he said loudly and both women shushed him and Xena especially, glared at him. "Oh, they're sleeping...got it," he winked. "Listen I wanted to talk to both of you..." he said and they all stepped away from the babies' room not to disturb them while they took their nap.

They walked to the atrium and Solan sighed clamping his hands together, "so after Eve and Samuel get married, I wanted to go with Allat. He's traveling to Qin and Japa and asked me to come with him."

Gabrielle nodded, "that sounds fun!" she smiled.

"What are you two going to do in those places?" Xena wondered, tapping her fingers restlessly on her knee.

Solan shrugged, "just to explore," he grinned. "I know what you're going to say, be careful and all that motherly stuff, but I'll be fine." He stared at his mother's blank face and he wasn't sure if it was a look of disapproval or not.

Xena sighed, "those lands are not like ours. I've been there before, just be aware of your surroundings."

Gabrielle turned her with her jaw dropped, "you've been to Qin and Japa? Since  _when_?" she seemed upset.

"Before I met you, Gabrielle," Xena smiled at her and Gabrielle folded her arms. More surprises, just more surprises from you Xena, Gabrielle thought to herself.

"I promise I'll be safe," he came to her and kissed his mother's cheek. Xena waved him off and smiled weakly and he left the atrium to tell Samuel.

* * *

Eve spoke with Samuel in a corner of a separate hallway so nobody would hear them. She held onto his hands tightly and shook her head. "I don't know, Samuel," she said unsurely.

He brushed a few tendrils behind her ear and looked into her worried eyes. "You'll be with me, it'll be fine!" he smiled hoping that she would agree with him.

Eve sighed, "my mother will be really upset if I tell her that I want to live in Persia with you."

"Why? She knows I'll be with you and my mother will be with us. I still am king, you know. I have to take care of my people too," he said and Eve nodded, thinking that over as well. "It would be easier if you and the children came to live with me, so we wouldn't have to go back and forth."

Eve nodded again, understanding his reasonableness but she hated to tell her mother that after the wedding, that she would leave for Persia. "Alright, but let me tell her." He smiled and kissed her generously which caught her off guard, but she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Solan came walking by and saw Samuel kissing his sister. "Whoa, hey, you already have two kids!" he said and Eve pulled away blushing, she turned her eyes away from him covering her mouth. "Samuel, I got something to tell you. Sorry Eve, I gotta borrow him." He grinned slyly.

Samuel smiled and gripped her hand, "let me know what she says," he said quietly and she nodded before he went off running towards Solan. "So what is it?" he asked and they walked together leaving Eve alone in the hallway. She exhaled deeply and folded her arms, leaning against the wall, she bit her lip nervously. She really was dreading to tell her mother, but she was sure that she would understand, but it would really upset her if she was separated from Luca and Layla. Xena loved them a lot as did Gabrielle. They were constantly around them so the twins were very familiar with both of them just as much as they were with Samuel and Eve.

* * *

Gabrielle sat next to Xena in the atrium still and stared at her smugly. Xena raised an eyebrow and looked away, feeling a bit strange the way Gabrielle was looking at her. "So, Japa huh? When did you go there and why didn't you tell me?"

Xena sighed, "I went to Japa when I was with Borias a long time ago and you never asked," she smiled mischievously.

"Well how was I supposed to know? Met some Amazons, traveled to Qin and Japa too. What else don't I know about you, Xena?" she leaned in closer and Xena rubbed her forehead anxiously.

"I was a pirate for awhile," Xena mumbled and Gabrielle's jaw dropped.

"A pirate?" she said and Xena nodded confirming her skeptical question. "No way, I don't believe you," she folded her arms shaking her head, refusing to believe that.

"You don't have to believe me Gabrielle but it's true," Xena grinned sneakily and Gabrielle pulled Xena close to her so she wouldn't leave. "What?"

Gabrielle bat her eyelashes sweetly at Xena, "I'd like to hear about it."

Xena frowned, "no," she tried to get up and Gabrielle clung to her arm and forced Xena to sit back down. She huffed and Gabrielle pleaded with her big green eyes.

"Please Xena?" she begged.

"You know I'm not good at telling stories, Gabrielle and it was so long ago I just don't think I can remember everything –"

Eve walked in and heard stories, "mother is telling stories?" she sat down on the floor spreading her dress out around her.

Xena glared over at Gabrielle, "look what you did. No I'm not telling any stories," she got up and Gabrielle pulled her back down. "Gabrielle!" she sneered.

"Come on mother, you never tell stories, I want to hear one since those two are sleeping I have time," Eve said anxiously and Xena rolled her eyes sighing heavily. She didn't know how she got roped into this and Gabrielle waited eagerly to hear Xena's past stories.

"Which one should I tell first?" Xena grumbled.

Gabrielle got comfortable sitting closely to the empress, "the pirate one."

Eve's eyes lit up, "pirate? You were a pirate?" she chuckled. Xena pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay sorry, continue," she stopped laughing and Xena tried to remember everything in the back of her mind. It was several years ago so a lot of it she pushed to the back of her mind never to resurface again, but thanks to Gabrielle's curiosity she had to dig deep in her mind –a place that she never went.

* * *

_Thirty Eight Years Ago_

Xena had left home just a year ago and she turned seventeen earlier in the year and she felt like she was on the top of the world. She felt super invincible, as if nothing could take her down. All the men she had with her, followed her into battle when a selfish warlord came to destroy her village and take her little brother's life away from her. After she defeated the said warlord and her brother's death, she swore that she would avenge her brother's death and take it out on anyone that came her way. She wanted to make sure that she was not a person to mess with and though her army was small, they were loyal to her.

Most of the men with her were considerably older than her, but she had no problem maintaining her status as their leader as a young teenager. After her mother's disgust over her vengeful acts Xena decided to leave home and not to return until she gained status as a warlord. She wanted to be the best warlord, the only female warlord throughout Greece and Thrace.

She wanted to get rid of the awful warlords that sacked villages and killed innocent people in her brother's name. She did not want daughters, sons or mothers to feel the same way she did when her brother was taken from her and her village was pillaged. She was going to annihilate them all. She made that promise to herself a year ago.

Her men had found a ship docked at one of Thrace's ports and she stole it, sailing to Greece's coast. She stood on the ship late at night and felt the cool ocean breeze wisp through her long silky black hair and a smile came to her lips. Everything was so new to her, she had never traveled before, except to a few neighboring villages in Thrace close to Amphipolis, but that was hardly traveling. She also had no idea where she was going and allowed the men to guide her and even found a handmade map in the ship. She decided to become familiar with Greece's territories.

She thought to herself that one day she wanted to rule Greece and she would have to climb many ladders to get there. But it was a dream of hers that she wanted to make come true, one day, she told herself, one day.

Docking at Corinth she stepped off the ship and looked at the area. It was a grassy plain and filled with fertile trees, growing oranges and apricots. It reminded her of home, but now, she didn't have a home. Amphipolis exiled her, or rather, she exiled herself from her own people.

She spotted a group of men on horses wearing dark clothes and silver helmets. They had people tied up behind them. Instantly her blood began to boil and she pointed her sword at the men, "stop them!" she yelled and her men trailed out of the ship running towards the said warlords invading Corinth.

Xena smiled as she saw the men begin to scramble and try to escape on their horses. She swung her sword and sliced a horse's kneecaps and the animal fell to the ground in agony and the men atop fell down and tumbled down close to her. He groaned and stared up at her. She was quite a beautiful woman, he thought and she was very young too, he saw it in her face. "Who are you?" he griped.

She twirled her sword in her wrist, "your savior," she plunged the sword into his chest and blood poured from his mouth. She kicked the man and took her sword out wiping the blood on his clothes. Slowly she sauntered over to the captured soldiers that her men had tied up. "Well, well," she sheathed her sword and folded her arms.

One of the men began laughing hysterically, "who are you supposed to be? Shouldn't you be at home with your mom," he laughed and others began to join in.

Xena frowned deeply and stared at all of them as they laughed at her. They obviously didn't take her seriously. She growled and unsheathed her sword plunging it into the funny man's gut and he gasped for air. Everyone stopped laughing and their eyes grew in fear. "People like you don't deserve to live!" she said and kicked the man down on his backside as he continued gasping for air, staring up at the sunny skies.

"What about the prisoners?" one of her men came up to her and she looked at everyone tied up. They looked like farmers and she waved her hand.

"Let them go," she instructed and he nodded running off to free everyone. She noticed one man though, he was definitely not a farmer. He had Roman armor on and he was young, like her, maybe a few years older than she was. She smirked and walked up to the Roman as he was being untied. "You look important," she set a hand on her hip sassily.

He grinned, "I am. Thank you for freeing me um..."

"Xena," she said and he nodded beginning to walk off.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asked wanting to know more about this Roman. He stopped and turned to look in her beautiful ice blue eyes. "Why did those warlords want you?"

He chuckled, "perhaps they don't like the way I look," he said lamely and continued walking off. She frowned and took the whip off her hip and snapped it forward tying the Roman's legs up and she yanked on the whip. He fell down face first into the dirt and groaned.

She knelt beside him and whispered in his ear, "you didn't tell me your name," she smiled sneakily.

"Brutus," he choked and coughed up some dirt.

"Brutus," she nodded and lent him a hand. "You should come join me on my ship. I'd like to know...more about you," she traced her fingers against his golden armor. He smiled nervously at her and he really needed to return to his commander but he figured since this woman saved his life, that he should at least show his gratitude, fearful that she might slice him up too if he refused.

* * *

Below the deck Brutus stood awkwardly waiting for Xena. The men instructed him to go down below into the single room and wait for her. He breathed heavily and then saw Xena come out a jointed room looking quite different than he saw her earlier. She was not wearing any armor, but a green dress and her hair was neatly piled on top of her head. She also had perfume on, he could smell her from a mile away.

"Lavender," he smiled, "it's a nice scent. From the land of the Persians," he said and Xena smirked sitting down on the bed, making herself comfortable.

"Yes well, I found it on a dead merchant a few months back," she said and smiled at him. "So, who do you work for?" she gestured to his armor. "I know you are Roman."

Brutus nodded, "afraid I can't say...Xena. I'm on a mission," he said.

Xena raised her eyebrows, "a mission?" she leaned forward, "me too."

"Oh? And what mission is that? Who do you work for?" he smiled at her nervously.

She chuckled, "I work for no one!" she said seriously and he was a bit taken aback from her assertiveness. "I plan to get rid of all the warlords that pillage their way throughout Greece."

He nodded and stood silent for awhile then looked to her as she waited for his response. "That's mighty ambitious of you," he finally said.

"Strategic is the word I'd use," she tapped her fingers on her knee and then stood up coming closer to him and he began to back away from her. She chuckled beneath her breath and reached for the map that was on a table behind him. She unrolled the map and pointed at Greece. "See that?" she smiled and he nodded. It was obviously a map of Greece, he knew that. He'd seen it before but didn't understand why she was so excited about it. Her eyes lit up wildly. "I'm going to rule this land one day," she said confidently.

He looked at her incredulously and began laughing. She then frowned at him. "What's so funny?" she asked, a bit insulted.

He cleared his throat, "it's just that...that's a big dream you have, Xena, but I'm afraid that land is already taken."

She raised an eyebrow and took a dagger out from in between her breasts and pointed it at his neck. His eyes widened in fear and she stared into his dark eyes. "By who?" she hissed.

"By –by Caesar!" he said and she lowered the dagger and he silently thanked the gods above that his throat was not sliced by this woman.

" _Who_  is Caesar?" she asked curiously.

He inhaled sharply, "the man who is founding the Roman Empire," he stuttered. She turned around and folded her arms thinking that this man, Brutus, as he called himself, was more important than she thought. This Caesar, must be his boss, the man he worked for. And this Caesar, wanted to create a new empire and claim Greece as well. She wasn't going to allow that to happen. She wanted Greece and she would have it, maybe not today or tomorrow, but one day, she would rule Greece and become a fearless empress. She smiled just thinking about it. A dream she so desperately wanted to become a reality. She would be the best ruler there was, she thought.

Turning around slowly to face Brutus she smiled deviously at him. "You can go tell your Caesar that Greece is mine and if he wants it, then he'll have to take it from me," she tapped the dagger's blade with her fingertips. She already had claimed Greece for herself even without a proper basis or foundation. She had no connections to rule an empire, but she would find some and take Greece into her hands.

"You may leave now," she said nonchalantly and he blinked at her, quite shocked at her abrasive attitude. He quickly left the room and hurried up the steps. She chuckled lowly and looked at the map on the table. She stabbed the dagger in a random spot and leaned in closer to see what city she struck. Athens, of course, the most progressive and powerful city in Greece, coming in second was Sparta. Yes, Greece was in dire need of a ruler.

She decided on that night that she wasn't going to get anywhere just by slaying warlords, no she needed to do more. She needed people to know her. She needed to spread her name across the map.

She didn't know who this Caesar man was, but she hadn't even met him and he was already pissing her off. She took the dagger out of the map and threw it at the wall angrily. She grabbed the map furiously and tacked it to the wall. She took a quill and dipped it in ink and wrote a giant on X on Athens. She smiled staring at the spot, the spot that would become hers.

* * *

Eve blinked and her mouth was slightly agape. "You were  _seventeen_?" she asked, quite shocked.

Xena nodded, "I was pretty foolish back then to think that I could take Greece at such a young age and from a Roman elite too," she smiled weakly.

"I don't think foolish is the right word," Gabrielle said. "More like insane!" she chuckled and Xena nudged her in her ribs.

"So what happened after that? Did you take Athens like you planned?" Eve asked, anxious to hear the rest of her mother's story.

Xena shook her head, "no, I became incredibly greedy and strayed from original path to avenge my brother. I forgot about his existence and became so enraptured with the idea of instilling fear into people." She never thought she'd be telling Eve all of this, but in truth, she had never told Eve about her past life, only a few things that Eve had heard over the years, but it was towards the end of Xena's evil reign and that was the least gruesome and less terrifying. " I made sure everyone knew who I was and it was at the time when the Roman council became aware of my existence. I was considered a threat to their new empire because they feared that I would take over Greece, but they made sure that wouldn't happen."

Eve waited for her mother to continue with her story, "and thennnn..." she begged to know more. She saw her mother look a bit wary and slightly uncomfortable.

"I became aware that the Romans didn't like me very much," she smirked, "so I decided to go off the radar for awhile. I found another army and decided to combine my army with theirs in hopes to rule together," she sighed not really feeling like continuing this story because Eve didn't know so much about her past life and this is where things got extremely complicated. "It was then I met Petracles."

Gabrielle caught onto Xena's slightly distance attitude and realized Eve was completely clueless. Eve had grown up with the idea that Aphrodite had gifted her to Xena, but she didn't know anything other than that. Xena didn't tell her, not even when she became of an appropriate age. She kept that locked away in the back of her mind, just like everything else.

"Who's Petracles?" Eve asked curiously with a sly smile. Xena smiled at her daughter and felt Gabrielle inch closer to her. "Was he your boyfriend?"

"Something like that," Xena said solemnly. She turned to Gabrielle for answers and she smiled at her warmly nodding her head. Eve frowned noticing her mother's attitude about this entire story changed completely.

"What?" Eve asked utterly confused.

Xena exhaled sharply, trying to think of the best way to say this without it sounding ridiculous. "Eve, I'm going to tell you something that might shock you." Eve leaned in forward listening carefully. "Petracles was your father."

Eve sat there silently and began chucking softly, " _what_? No he's not. I don't have a father," she shook her head in disbelief.

"Yes you do," Xena said seriously and Eve saw both her mother and Gabrielle had serious expressions on their faces. "You think that you just magically came to me?" she said seriously.

Eve's smile disappeared. "But...Aphrodite..." now she was really confused and didn't know what to believe anymore. Obviously her mother had more secrets than she thought and she came to realize she knew very little about her own mother and about herself. "This doesn't make any sense," she creased her eyebrows in puzzlement.

"It's a really long story, Eve," Gabrielle said and the princess eyed her bemused at this entire situation.

"Well I want to hear it," she said and looked into her mother's eyes and she smiled warmly. "Please?" she pleaded.

Xena sighed, "after I joined my army with his, my naive self decided to sleep with him and I thought that he truly cared for me. Now I realize that he didn't care for me at all. If I could see him one last time I'd kill him myself," she frowned and Eve listened intently, bringing her knees close to her chest. "Anyway, after spending a year with him I became pregnant with you," she said and saw her daughter's eyes widen. "He didn't care about you or me, so I decided to leave, to make this story short."

Eve frowned, "okay, but that doesn't explain how am I here today...I'd be a lot older than Solan if that was the case!" she smiled wanting her mother to continue.

Xena didn't really want to talk about the next part of this horrible story, but Eve was eager to know. "Something happened when I left," she began slowly and felt Gabrielle grab her hand. "I was attacked and I foolishly went alone because I was upset at Petracles. That night, I thought I was going to bleed to death, but I didn't and unfortunately," she sighed, "I lost you in the process because I couldn't protect you, I let that stick in my mind for many years."

Eve frowned sadly, "wow," she felt like she couldn't say any more. She had no idea that her conception was at one point, so long ago, instead of twenty three years ago, it was thirty eight. "I'm sorry," she said, unsure what to say to all of that.

Xena smiled and reached down touching her daughter's hand, "don't be sorry. I have you now and that is what is most important to me."

The princess soon began to realize why her mother was super overprotective of her throughout her life and now she felt bad for acting like such a brat sometimes. She thought that her mother was always overreacting to everything, but now she understood why. "So that's why you never want me to leave your side..." she said and Xena frowned, not really liking the sound of that coming out of Eve's mouth.

"That makes me sound like a controlling mother," Xena laughed lightly and Gabrielle smiled warmly.

Eve grinned, "you're not, but...I'm sorry I was such a brat growing up." She apologized and her mother winked at her, not the least bit insulted at all. Eve then thought of what Samuel said about moving to Persia with him and that would probably break her mother's heart but, she would have to tell her eventually, but perhaps not right now. "So, are you going to finish the story or what?" she smiled moving onto the next topic.

Xena sighed heavily, "well I don't know if you're ready for that," she teased.

Eve pouted, "please? I want to know what happens next," her eyes widened with excitement.

Gabrielle smiled smugly, "yeah Xena, tell us what happens next. I don't think you've told me any of these stories before," she added and the empress glared at her playfully.

"After I left Petracles, he took my entire army and I had to start over. When I was eighteen I was able to find a group of men to follow me since my name was more known then. We decided to travel north of Greece. I realized that the Greeks were not very fond of me so I left to Anatolia and soon the northern Steppes. It was there I found Borias and his tribal army in the mountains," she raised an eyebrow thinking of that moment –a moment she'd never forget.

Eve and Gabrielle both seemed interested and Gabrielle had heard many stories but she hadn't heard any of the detailed stories, just bits and pieces here and there over the years.

"I have noticed you had a lot of men...in your life, mother," Eve teased and actually found this piece of information incredibly fascinating to know that her mother was once a wild teenager who had no boundaries. She was such a different person now, she definitely wasn't the same. Back then it seemed like her mother acted without the thought of consequence –the problem with a teenager's mind. Teenagers don't think before they act and Xena did plenty of that. She thought that her mother was such a strict and firm woman, someone who did not take no for an answer but she carefully planned out her attacks and she was very strategic in warfare and politics. This teenager that her mother spoke of, she almost didn't want to believe her because it didn't sound anything like the Xena she grew up around. Yet as her mother told bits and pieces of her past life, she somehow related to her more and more, connecting with her on a different level, minus the evil reign of course.

* * *

At eighteen Xena felt like she accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. People in Greece, Thrace and Rome knew who she was. It was time to expand her superiority and so then she took her small band of fifty men with her to the Steppes. Anatolia was a barren land in the north, and she stayed there only for a short time.

Stealing some horses in Anatolia was a necessity to travel and she didn't think anything of it. She even stole some garb from some merchants while she was there. Donning animal pelts, pants and thick boots to protect herself from the harsh weather in the Steppes, she rode on. She also found a coined cloth headpiece that she took from a fallen villager, though she was not at fault for those dead villagers. That was someone else's problem and she didn't need other people's problems.

The air was much dryer up here in the desert mountains but she had arrived in spring, where the lands were lush and green. The winters here must be awful, she thought. She rode ahead with her men behind her and found a camp of tribal men and even some women. She smirked and kicked her horse riding into the area.

Many of the men in the campsite saw a woman who was dressed liked them and thought she might be from another tribe nearby. "Travelers approaching," one man said and Borias stepped forward, folding his arms looking at the woman riding ahead of all the men.

"A group of men and  _one_  woman?" he smirked and saw the woman hold her horses and she hopped off, coming to say hello to everyone. She was very young, but beautiful as well. Her dark long hair glistened in the sun and her big white teeth sparkled. She definitely wasn't a poor woman, gathering by her appearance.

"My men and I were traveling through the area and thought we stop by and say hello..." Xena spoke to Borias with a subtle smirk on her lips.

He smiled, "and you are?" he asked curiously staring at her extremely light blue eyes.

"Xena," she said softly, "and your name?" she came closer to him and he folded his arms staring down at her.

"Borias," he kissed her hand and she raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips. "This is my tribe, you are welcome to stay here."

She smiled warmly at him and brushed passed him taking a good look at his camp. Many of the men appeared to have wives though she saw no children, except for one, a small boy probably no older than five years old. He was cuddled next to his mother, as it appeared to be, as she was preparing some food for him.

Borias came to stand next to Xena, finding her extremely nosy. "My wife, Natassa," he said and Xena nodded finding that interesting that he was the only person in this tribe to have a child. He must be the leader of this tribe, she thought to herself. Natassa noticed him staring at her and she smiled at him. She also noticed a beautiful young woman standing next to him as well.

She made her way over to them both and brought her son with her as he clung to her colorful skirt. "It is our custom to welcome guests as our own," she said looking at Xena with her light blue eyes.

Xena smiled curtly at her and noticed the child staring up at her with his dark brown eyes, resembling his father no doubt. She snarled at the child and he hid behind his mother's skirt, fearful of her. She smiled and Borias grabbed her hand, startling her.

"Please, come sit with us," he said and she smiled mischievously at him.

"If you insist..." she followed along with him to sit down with Borias and his wife inside their yurt.

* * *

Gabrielle interrupted the story, "whoa, wait a minute!" she said and Eve blinked at her and Xena had a feeling Gabrielle would have some questions. "Borias has a son? And he had a wife?" she was shocked to hear that and Xena never mentioned that before.

"Yes. I'm afraid his wife soon did not like me very much because I took him away from her," she added sheepishly, feeling embarrassed suddenly.

"So you were the  _other_  woman?" Eve said.

Xena frowned, "okay now, let's not get into –"

"A concubine?" Eve teased further.

"Alright, story time over!" Xena stood up and both Gabrielle and Eve pleaded for her to stay. Gabrielle pulled on her arm and Eve scooted forward on the floor closer to her mother, pulling on her other hand. Xena plopped back down on the sofa and sighed.

Gabrielle smiled grabbing onto Xena's hand, "please continue," she bat her eyelashes at her and Xena rolled her eyes.

"Yes please," Eve said eagerly.

Samuel came to see Xena, Gabrielle and Eve huddled close together and Xena was talking to them quietly and saw her hands rise into the air looking quite passionate at whatever she was talking about. He approached them and said, "what's going on?" he smiled.

"Not now, Samuel," Eve said and shooed him away. He looked confused and Xena stopped telling her story. Eve looked to him, "we're talking about womanly stuff," she smiled and he held up his hands for surrender and soon left the area, not interested at all anymore.

"Say no more," he shook his head and left the atrium to go check on Luca and Layla. He hadn't heard any sound from them in awhile and hoped they were still asleep.

Xena tapped her chin, "where was I?" she frowned losing her train of thought.

"Borias invited you to eat with him and his wife," Gabrielle reminded her and Xena nodded.

"Eve!" Samuel called for her and Eve groaned. She got up quickly and stared at her mother eagerly.

"Don't start without me!" she smiled and hastily went to see what the problem was.

Xena watched Eve leave in a hurry and heard one of the babies crying. "Should I go help her?" she asked Gabrielle.

Gabrielle smiled, "if you want to," she said and without question Xena got up and strode down the hallway with Gabrielle following her.

* * *

Eve came into the room and saw Layla crying on Samuel's shoulder and Luca was standing up holding onto the railing of the crib watching his sister, who was obviously not in the best of moods. He turned and was thankful to see Eve arrived, "oh look, it's mommy," he spoke to his daughter and Layla turned her head and saw Eve smiling at her.

He handed Layla to Eve and she smiled at her. "Hey there," she said softly and Layla slowly stopped crying. "Why are you so upset?" she asked calmly and Layla looked up into her eyes and her eyes grew as her mouth gaped slightly.

"She just wants to be with you," Samuel folded his arms then heard Luca making small gurgling noises. He turned around and Luca reached up to him. "What do you want?" he smiled leaning forward and Luca smiled at him, grabbing his tunic. Samuel picked him up and Luca grabbed Samuel's hair.

Xena came into the room and Samuel smiled at her then saw Gabrielle come in after her. Luca saw Xena and immediately reached for her. Xena smiled at the child and came forward grabbing him out of Samuel's arms. "I guess I'm not important enough," he joked.

"They love you Samuel, stop it," Eve said and sat down with Layla calmly in her arms.

He nodded, "did you tell her?" he said aloud and Eve's eyes widened.

Xena looked at him curiously, "tell who what?"

Samuel realized that Eve hadn't told her yet and suddenly it became very awkward and silent in the room.

Eve rolled her eyes and figured that she wouldn't be able to avoid this forever. "After the wedding Samuel and I decided we should move to Persia with the children," she said and waited for a response from her mother.

Xena remained silent and she smiled softly, "well, I can't control where you live or what you do with your life," she said calmly.

"So you're not upset?" Eve said and saw Gabrielle remaining quiet the entire time, though she looked to Xena occasionally.

Xena smiled, "I could never be upset with you, Eve," she said sincerely. She thought that Eve wouldn't stay with her forever especially since she has children now and a husband. And she also seemed to forget that Samuel was a king and respectively stayed in Greece for over a year to help with the war and to be with Eve too. He was absent from his kingdom leaving his vizier to do all the work for him, which wasn't always the wisest decision. Xena never had a vizier and knew that Persian kings were keen on keeping viziers to make the political decisions for them in their absence.

Gabrielle smiled at Luca in Xena's arms, she brushed her finger against his cheek. "Too bad they will be gone when you both leave!" she pouted and the boy grinned at her.

Eve smiled as Layla calmly began playing with her gown. "You can both visit them often!" she said with a big grin on her face and Gabrielle still didn't like the idea that she would be separated from both.

"Oh we  _will_ ," Gabrielle smugly grinned up at Xena, "right?" she hoped. The empress grinned, nodding her head to Gabrielle's eagerness.

"Mother, are you going to finish your story? I'd like to hear more about it," Eve was rather fervent.

Xena sighed, "if you really want to hear the rest of it, I will tell you, when you're free of course." She handed Luca to Samuel, "but for now, take care of them first," she winked and grabbed Gabrielle's hand reluctantly pulling her out of the room.

* * *

"You never said anything about Borias having  _another_  son," Gabrielle said trying to ease her way back into Xena's story.

Xena rolled her eyes, "you never asked," she smirked.

"Do you think he is still alive?" Gabrielle asked, anxious to know more.

"I have no idea," she sighed, "although I don't think he would be very happy to see me if we ever crossed paths," she admitted sadly.

Gabrielle's face contorted in confusion, "why? Were you mean to him?"

Xena didn't really want to get into the specifics, "something like that. I took his father away from him, Gabrielle. How would you feel?" she said and realized that what she said was all too true. Xena took Gabrielle's parents away from her when she was a child, much like she did to Borias' son. "I didn't mean –"

Gabrielle grinned softly, "it's alright Xena. That was a long time ago and I forgave you eons ago," she pat her hand gently reassuring Xena's apprehension of the sore subject.

"Perhaps it is my curse to tear families apart," Xena said solemnly. "I'm apparently good at it," she jested lightly.

Gabrielle halted and held onto Xena's hand, tightening her grip. "I don't think you give yourself the credit you deserve, Xena." She said seriously staring into her ice blue eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, you united two warring empires and even rekindled your relationship with the Persian Empire." Xena lowered her eyes, refusing to look at her. "You've waited so long to achieve your goal and now that you finally have, I don't think it's sunk into your mind yet." She smiled lifting Xena's chin finally looking into those unforgiving blue eyes of hers. "Cherish the things dearest to you, Xena because you never know when they'll be gone," she winked.

Xena smiled at her and felt imminent tears swelling in her eyes. "What would I do without you?"

Gabrielle sighed and continued walking with Xena, linking arms with hers. "Become a grumpy old empress?"

Xena chuckled softly, "too late for that."

"You're not grumpy!" Gabrielle protested, "at least, not  _all_  the time," she teased and Xena nudged her in her rib.

"I'm working on it." Xena smirked.

**AN: Shahanshah and Shahazada means "King of kings and Princess" in Persian.**


	37. Chapter 37

**AN: ah, so sad yet happy at the same time.**

Chapter 37 –Shahanshah and Shahazada Part II

The night before the wedding Hatima was with Eve in her bedroom deciding on what earrings and jewelry she should wear. Courtesy of Gabrielle, she was able to find a lot of jewelry for Eve to choose from all at Xena's expense of course. Xena had learned to stop caring what Gabrielle spent her money on especially if it was jewelry, though Xena suggested that whatever Eve did not want, would be sent back to the merchant, free of charge. So either way, Xena paid for everything no matter if Eve kept all the jewelry or not.

Hatima was able to coordinate everything with Gabrielle's help. Bringing in all of Samuel's siblings, cousins and close allies for the ceremony tomorrow. Throughout the week there were many caravans brought to the palace and it sparked a lot of interest of the Roman people. There was a new caravan every day and they were foreigners. Dressed in extravagant clothing lined with gold and black. The women wearing fancy veils and large gowns. These people definitely intrigued the Romans and everyone was sure that there was some kind of party or celebration otherwise why would all those people come?

Solan was in charge of showing all of Samuel's friends and relatives their rooms, which there were many. Some of them had children, though most of his relatives did not and one of his brother's had many wives. Solan thought that was rather odd, but he was not one to judge. They had traveled a long way to be here so he was going to make sure that everyone was accommodated well.

Xena sat in her room in a chair close to the window drinking some much needed wine. With all of Samuel's sisters, brothers and wives of the brothers, she was beginning to understand why she didn't befriend the Persians again. They were like rabbits. Samuel had so many family members and not to mention his sisters were rather demanding and bossy. She decided to seclude herself once she saw the people beginning to arrive just a few days ago. She hadn't even come out to greet them all on her own accord.

Gabrielle came into the room and let out a sharp exhale. Xena turned her head and smirked. "Gods, those women!" she rubbed her forehead, "I can't take it, Xena." She walked over and picked up the bottle of wine. "Can I join you?" she smiled.

Xena sipped the wine and pulled out the chair next to her. "Can't take the women can you?" she chuckled.

The blonde poured a glass for herself and slumped in the chair, feeling exhaustion take over her body. She shook her head, "don't get me wrong," she swallowed, "his sisters are very nice and not to mention beautiful," she gasped, "and have you seen their mothers?" she drank some more of the wine downing it immediately.

Xena's eyes widened, "slow down, Gabrielle. It's not water," she placed her hand over hers.

"Phraates must have picked the most beautiful women in Persia to birth his children," Gabrielle joked. Xena raised an eyebrow and Gabrielle cleared her throat. "I'm just saying," she mumbled. "One of his sisters has red hair and blue eyes, but she is extremely bossy, by the gods." She began to mock the young Persian princess, "change the sheets, move the bed, no that's the wrong pillows..." she frowned.

Xena chuckled, "and that is why I am staying in here." She raised her glass, "to solitude," she winked and sipped her wine. Gabrielle smiled and drank from her glass as well.

Solan burst into the room and slammed the door, leaning against breathing heavily. Both women turned to see him looking very exhausted and worn out. Xena sighed, "and now my peace and quiet is over," she sipped the wine slowly as she looked out the window.

"Mother, I can't deal with those women anymore," he came to her. "For the love of Zeus, will you please release me from my duties?" he begged.

Xena smiled, "I'm sure they're just swooning over you," she teased.

He frowned, "they won't leave me alone. They keep asking me to meet their ridiculous demands. One of them tried rearranging furniture!"

Gabrielle nodded, "the red head, right?" she sipped her wine.

"Maya, yes, that one!" Solan groaned, "she's so bossy," he sighed sitting down in the chair in between the two women. "Save me, please." Xena smiled at his demise, sort of enjoying his suffering. "Sabine and Asma are preoccupied with the twins, thank the gods," he blew his hair off his forehead. "They're not so bad."

"When Eve moves to Persia, she will have many babysitters at her disposal," Xena smiled. Though, she wanted Eve to always be with her, she knew that wouldn't be able to happen. She told Eve that she was happy that she would be leaving but in reality, she was a bit sad that she would be leaving her side and not for awhile, but for good. She could no longer keep her locked away inside the palace walls.

Gabrielle sensed some sadness in Xena's eyes. She rested her hand on top of hers and smiled warmly at her. "She won't be that far away."

"Only a sea away," Xena smiled and finished her wine, no longer finding it suitable to her taste anymore. Gabrielle grinned weakly and Solan remained quiet. Xena turned her attention towards her grown son. "This trip you and Allat have planned in Qin and Japa," she grabbed his hand, "be careful."

Solan smiled and pat his mother's hand, "mother I'm not a little boy anymore. I haven't been for a long time. Besides," he lifted his chin proudly, "you taught me everything I know!" and Xena smiled warmly at him. "So don't worry about me," he kissed her hand gently.

"I will always worry about you," Xena said seriously and he nodded understanding her stance on him going to a place far away. When he left for Assyria to be by Allat's side, she said the same thing and that wasn't even that far away either.

He smiled at her and sighed heavily. "So, what are you two ladies going to do in this empty palace when Eve and I leave?" he leaned back in the chair folding his arms with a curious grin.

Gabrielle smiled sneakily, "yeah Xena,  _what_  will do?" she eyed the empress and Xena blinked, not really knowing how to answer that. "We should travel Greece!"

Xena raised an eyebrow, "Gabrielle, I've traveled every inch of Greece."

Gabrielle nodded, thinking that was stupid of her to say. Greece belonged to Xena for decades. "We should travel to India, then!" she suggested.

Xena sighed, "I don't know about that."

"Have you ever been there?" Gabrielle leaned in closer.

"Well no –"

"Then we should go!" she exclaimed. Xena was about to detest and Gabrielle put her finger over Xena's mouth. "We're going, don't try and argue with me." Xena slapped away Gabrielle's hand and frowned. "Come on Xena, it'll be a fun adventure. When was the last time you traveled somewhere for  _fun_?"

Xena thought long and hard and actually she never traveled for 'fun' as Gabrielle put it. Her travels were always political and tiresome. "Alright, fine," she grumbled.

Gabrielle smiled with glee and kissed Xena's cheek. The empress sighed and decided the wine was not so bad after all and she poured another glass for herself. Solan laughed lightly, "mother, you really are turning into a grumpy old woman."

Xena shot him a glare, "I am not!"

"You kind of are," Gabrielle playfully added and Xena's jaw dropped.

"You're siding with him?" Xena asked.

Solan got up putting his hands in the air, "hey I'm not involved in this," he smiled and bowed his head, "if you'll excuse me...I'm going to try and find a quiet place to get away from those crazy women." He turned and left the room.

As soon as he left Xena said, "I'm not grumpy," she said stubbornly.

Gabrielle chuckled, "yes you are."

"No, I'm not," Xena tapped her fingers on the table impatiently.

"Yes," Gabrielle teased.

"No!" Xena stared in Gabrielle's green eyes firmly and then a smile appeared on her lips and Gabrielle chuckled softly. "Maybe a little bit..." she admitted playfully.

"A  _little_  bit?" the blonde teased further and Xena raised an eyebrow.

"Don't push it," she sipped the dark wine. "Why India?" she was curious.

Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, I've never been there. It would be fun to explore new places and a new culture," she said and Xena remained quiet. "And it would be even better if I got to do it with you," she smiled.

Xena sighed, "I've been so preoccupied with war and politics for many years. I forgot what it was like to have fun. When I was young I traveled to new places –Rome, Athens, Corinth, Anatolia, Africa, Qin, Japa..." She frowned, "but they were not for fun, they were for conquest, though back then, everything was fun and exciting. Over the years, those places became a chore and were no longer exciting."

Gabrielle could understand Xena's feelings. She had traveled to many places and it was not for adventure, though in her young eyes, it was an adventure –an adventure for power and greed. Xena had forgotten how to enjoy simple things and she saw a lot of the years as empress waning on her. Her eyes were tired, she was tired. She had failed, won and conquered, though now everything was different. Xena was done conquering, she was done fighting and the effects of it all were finally coming crashing down on her. She had grown in numerable ways, ways that probably she would not have achieved if Gabrielle hadn't been there. She would probably have spiraled down into her dark path, pushing her down until she was nothing but a war criminal or worse –dead.

"I can teach you how to have fun again," Gabrielle said softly. "We will travel together and you won't be an empress –just Xena."

Xena smiled, "you are truly a wonderful person, Gabrielle." She sighed and grasped her hand, "sometimes I wish that I was not an empress –that I could just leave it all." She was beginning to question all of her life choices. "If I had not become an empress I would have a different life."

"But you wouldn't have everything you have now," Gabrielle said. "I wouldn't be here and probably would still hate you. Just because you think your life would be different as a regular person doesn't mean it would be better..."

Xena nodded, "you're right Gabrielle. I should learn to be grateful for what I have," she smiled warmly. "Thank you for reminding me," she leaned over and kissed her cheek gingerly.

"That's what I'm here for!" Gabrielle blushed slightly and Xena looked at her with warm eyes.

Eve came into the room and the two looked to her. "Mother, should I choose the pearls or gold earrings?" she marched over to her and showed her both choices.

Xena smiled at her daughter, "they're both beautiful."

The princess sighed, "that's not helping," she looked down at the earrings and couldn't decide which ones would look better.

Gabrielle pursed her lips, "the gold ones are nice," she smiled. Xena sipped her wine, not finding this conversation to her liking.

Eve smiled, "you think so?" she felt so indecisive. "The pearls look really nice with the dress, though," she sighed.

"The pearls then," Gabrielle sided with her.

"I don't know..." Eve sighed and Xena sighed along with her.

"Whatever you wear, you will look beautiful, as always," Xena said and Eve raised an eyebrow.

"You have to say that, you're my mother." She looked at the pearl earrings again and Xena smirked, continuing to sip her wine. "I think I'll go with the gold ones." She nodded reassuring herself and Gabrielle nodded, agreeing with her. "What do you think, Gabrielle?" she asked for her opinion.

"They would look good on you!" Gabrielle smiled and Eve grinned widely, finally deciding on wearing the gold earrings. "But your mother is right, you look good in anything," she winked.

Eve sighed and sat down on her mother's bed. "I'm going to miss you both when I leave." She placed her hands in her lap. Gabrielle came to sit beside her and wrap a generous arm around her.

"We'll always be here. You know where to find us," Gabrielle poked Eve's nose and the princess smiled softly.

"You will both come to visit in Persia, won't you?" Eve hoped.

Xena turned to her daughter, "you know we will. We would drop everything to come see you," she winked and Eve smiled, feeling better about this situation despite being so far from her home.

"I'm really nervous for tomorrow," Eve sighed, "Samuel's sisters are so annoying," she frowned. "I tried to talk with them but they just kept asking me questions then began gossiping about their cousins' dresses." She rolled her eyes.

Xena chuckled sipping her wine, "welcome to the princess lifestyle."

Eve shook her head, "I'm not like them. They told me women aren't allowed to fight in war, only men!" she huffed, "imagine that?" she couldn't believe it.

"The Persians are that way, Eve," Xena said. "But Samuel doesn't treat you that way," she added and Eve nodded, agreeing with her.

"Were you ever married, mother?" the princess asked and Xena spit her wine back into her glass, coughing slightly.

Xena wiped the wine off her robe and set the glass down, "it never crossed my mind," she smirked.

"Not even  _once_?" Gabrielle asked curiosity getting the best of her. "Not even with Borias?"

Xena frowned at her consort and saw Eve's eyes light up. She was definitely intrigued. "No,  _definitely_  not with him. We didn't have that kind of relationship."

Eve smugly grinned, "oh  _right_ , because he already had a wife?"

"It sounds worse when it comes out of your mouth..." Xena mumbled, "but no, we just were never like that."

"You never did finish your story, Xena," Gabrielle egged her on and Xena rolled her eyes. Eve crossed her legs and almost forgot about that night last week.

"Oh yes!" Eve grinned, "please, tell us the rest of the story, mother. It will distract me," she hoped and Xena shook her head. "Please, mother?" she pleaded.

Xena pinched the bridge of her nose, "how did we go from earrings to  _this_?" she turned the chair to face both of them and poured a generous amount of wine in her glass. "I'm going to need more of this." She smirked.

"So does that mean you're going to tell the rest of the story?" Eve asked, hopeful that her mother would do so.

"Yes,  _but_ ," Xena held up her finger, "no interruptions this time," she looked at both of them and they bobbed their heads. "I hate when you two do that." She sighed and thought where she left off at. She thought she should skip a few details for the sake of her daughter's ears. "So, after I was welcomed into his tribe, I stayed there for a few months gaining his trust..."

* * *

Four months had gone by quicker than Xena expected and her men had gotten along well with Borias' men and even the women as well. The more she was in this place, the more she felt she was slowly gaining Borias' trust and then some. She had shown her intrigue in him and even tried to seduce him from time to time behind his wife's back.

Being rather nosy, she heard Borias talking with his men of a neighboring tribe that might invade. Xena had never been for the nomadic lifestyle but she was dying to fight someone and it had been far too long since she had done that. She secretly hoped that the other tribe would attack just so she could fight against them, thus making Borias favor her more.

She walked into Borias' yurt and saw a group of men huddled around in a small circle on the floor sitting on large pillows. All the men turned to see her and ceased talking. She smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "What's going on here?" she asked curiously.

Borias smiled and stood up, "business, Xena," he folded his arms and Xena copied his stature. The men got up and left the yurt immediately, leaving the two alone.

"I heard about the tribe," Xena sneered, "they want to attack you," she walked forward and he watched her carefully.

"You shouldn't listen in on my conversations, Xena," he stood still and she walked over to him, now barely a foot away from him. He stared into her light blue eyes that had a sparkle in them.

She shrugged, "hard not to. I can help you..." she came closer and traced her fingers on his vest and he grabbed her hand and she grinned mischievously at him. "I would be a great asset to you," she whispered.

"You're a dangerous woman, Xena. I've heard things about you," he glared into her devious eyes and she bit her bottom lip.

"Have you?" she hissed, "what did you hear?"

He raised an eyebrow, "I've heard  _enough_ ," he gently pushed her away and walked over to a table to drink some wine. She frowned, narrowing her eyes. She thought that he would immediately give into her like so many men have done before, but obviously, he was different and harder to seduce. This would be a challenge for her and she accepted it.

She smiled and went over to him, her finger grazing over his bare arm. "I am good fighter. My men would be more than willing to help you if...that tribe does decide to attack."

He turned around looking into her dangerous eyes. "For my sake, I hope they don't," he drank some wine and pushed her aside leaving the yurt. She growled and folded her arms, not succeeding in her plan at all.

She exited the yurt and saw the young boy standing there with a toy in his hands. Xena frowned at the boy and his eyes were wide, continuing to glare at her. She snarled at him and he gasped, running away from her sight and she smirked then went on about her way.

* * *

A week passed by and the neighboring tribe sent word that they wanted to make a negotiation with Borias and his tribe. Xena told her men of the plan that she overheard and she told them that negotiations were highly unlikely and that they should attack them even without Borias' consent. She wanted to prove to him that she was not a mere traveler out for blood, but that she was indeed serious and could fight by his side.

The tribe's leader rode in with a lot of his men behind him and Xena stood alongside Borias watching them come closer. She folded her arms and looked to the hilltops and saw her men stationed just where she wanted them. Borias was clueless but Xena was sure that this man wasn't going to abide by any rules unless Borias and his tribe left this area to relocate. This was a perfect spot, Xena could see why anyone would want it but she wasn't doing this to save the tribe, she wanted to show her worth to him despite his unwillingness to shed blood for the sake of a piece of land. It was more than that to her.

Borias walked forward to meet the other leader, Yasr and all his men were behind him on horseback waiting patiently. Xena frowned and looked to her men hiding in the designated spots. She said that if there is any sign of a sword or even attempt at killing Borias, just to attack at will without her signal.

"Thank you for coming to meet with me," Borias said and Yasr nodded.

"I thank you for wanting to talk with me," he smiled tightly and saw Xena standing behind him at a fair distance. She had an eerie smile on her lips and he then focused back on Borias. "I want your land, but it seems you won't give it up."

Borias chuckled, "my people have been here for decades. You can't make us move to another place, Yasr," he frowned staring in the man's brown eyes.

"Not even if I trade a few women for your precious land?" he smiled and Borias shook his head.

"I don't want your women," he said and turned to see Xena standing there. He smiled at her and turned his attention back to him. "What else do you have to negotiate with?" he smirked.

Yasr smiled sneakily, "I have one thing," he unsheathed his sword and Borias' eyes widened, not fully expecting that. Borias too drew his scimitar and then saw a slew of arrows come their way. One struck Yasr in the throat and he choked on his own blood and fell over on his knees. Yasr's riders were immediately shot down and fell off their horses, wailing in agony.

Borias stood there as he watched Yasr die before his eyes and his blade clean of blood. He turned around and saw Xena with her hands on her hips with a big smile.

"I told you I could help you," she called out and watched his face turn from shock to satisfaction in an instance.  _I have you now_.

* * *

Later that evening Xena came into Borias' yurt and saw he was drawing a map of some sort. He glanced up as soon as he saw her and smiled. "How did you know he was going to kill me?" he asked.

Xena came around and sat beside him, "I'm good at what I do," her hand slithered close to him and came to his thigh. "So..." she whispered, "will you let me help you  _now_?" she leaned in closer and he stared into her eyes and then glanced down at her inviting lips. He leaned down and kissed her gently. When he pulled away she let a small smile escape her lips and he grinned back at her.

Natassa came into the yurt with a basket of woven clothes and saw Xena sitting next to Borias and she was close, too close. Borias stood up immediately getting away from Xena. Natassa frowned and Xena stood up as well, fixing her hair and headpiece. He came to his wife and took the basket from her and set it down on the floor next to the table. Xena made her way towards the exit and her eyes followed Natassa's.

She frowned at her and Xena smiled, then left the yurt. She came over to Borias and grabbed his arm, "what was  _she_  doing in here?"

"I was talking with her," he said lamely.

Natassa scoffed and folded her arms, "didn't look like it to me," she frowned.

Borias sighed and lifted her chin up towards him, "Natassa, you know I only have eyes for you and our son. Xena is just going to help me with future battle plans. That's all."

She grimaced, "she is a whore, Borias," she slapped his hand away from her face. "I've seen women like her. She will use you!" she left the yurt in a foul mood and he groaned. He then picked up a bottle and threw it across the yurt and it shattered all over the floor.

Natassa saw Xena sitting with a few of her men smiling and laughing with them. She walked over to their get-together and all the men stopped talking. Xena turned her head and lifted her eyes to see a very angry woman staring at her. "You stay away from him," she demanded.

Xena smiled, "or what?" she challenged her and Natassa knocked the cup of wine out of Xena's hand. All the men then blinked as their eyes widened. Xena stood up face to face with the woman.

"Stay away, Xena," Natassa hissed then walked away. Xena folded her arms and huffed. She glanced down and saw all the men staring up at her.

"What are you looking at?!" she yelled and kicked their bottle of wine over and left the area in a tantrum.

* * *

Gabrielle and Eve listened intently as Xena finished her small story. Eve frowned and waited for her mother to continue, "that's it?" she blinked.

Xena smiled, "I told you what happened, didn't I?" she sipped her wine.

Gabrielle smirked, "we all know there's more to that story, Xena." She folded her arms, "so Natassa told you to stay away from Borias but you obviously didn't."

"You have Solan to prove it," Eve chuckled lightly. Xena rolled her eyes and downed the rest of her wine. "So how long did you stay there? I don't think you would have stayed there very long considering his wife..."

Xena smiled sadly, "I convinced Borias to leave his wife for me after a few more months. I was there for a year before I finally convinced him. The day after my nineteenth birthday Borias and I left the tribe and brought many of the men with us to begin a new life."

Gabrielle laid down on her stomach resting her chin on her hands, "did you feel bad that you took Borias away from his son?

Xena scoffed, "of course not," she grinned lightly. "I did not care about anybody but myself at that time, Gabrielle. I wouldn't dream of doing something like that now."

Gabrielle nodded thinking that was rather silly of her to ask. She kept forgetting that this was a different Xena in this story. It was not the Xena she knew and grew to love. This Xena was young, vicious and ambitious as well as evil and even cruel at times. "You mentioned that you and Borias traveled to Qin and Japa."

Eve's eyes lit up, "isn't that where Solan and Allat are going?" Xena nodded. "What did you do there?"

Xena sighed heavily, "what didn't I do there?" she smirked. "Very bad things, Eve. Borias wanted to ally with the Kingdom of Lao but I ruined it. Later when I became empress I decided to make a treaty with Lao that I would never return there, which I kept my promise."

Eve frowned, "but you sent me to Qin before. Isn't that breaking your treaty?"

The empress quirked her mouth, "no because I did not set foot in Qin myself. They know what I look like in Qin and I am still not well liked there," she sighed sadly.

Gabrielle leaned on her elbows, "would you ever want to change that? I'm sure the leader of Lao will see that you have changed."

"Unfortunately, she's dead now," Xena tapped her fingers on her knee. "I'm sure if I kept in contact with her...things would be different and we would be the best of friends, but now that her son is the ruler of Lao, that is not likely to happen."

Eve nodded, "the people in Qin aren't very welcoming to Greek travelers. I saw it firsthand..." she leaned against Gabrielle, "what did you do in Qin that was so awful?"

Xena shook her head, "Borias wanted to make peace with Lao Ma but I wouldn't allow it to happen. I told him that I agreed to help him ally with her in exchange to take over her entire army to make peace with the south." She smiled weakly and continued, "I lied to them both. I did take her army in my control but instead of negotiating peace with the south kingdom, I obliterated them all. I killed them all."

Gabrielle's eyes widened and saw sadness in Xena's eyes. It was obvious that she had changed so much and she was so ashamed of what she did so long ago. "And Borias I'm sure wasn't very happy about that."

She nodded, "he was angry with me, but I think he was more angry that I lied instead of killing all those people. It was then when I thought he was going to leave me, but he didn't." she frowned, "he should've left me right then and there, but instead he chose to leave Qin and we were both banished. We sailed to Japa long after that. We stayed in Japa for a year before we returned to Greece. On the way back, I didn't know it then but I was pregnant with Solan. It was an awful journey," she smiled softly.

Eve and Gabrielle smiled warmly at her and Gabrielle leaned forward, "how long did it take you to return to Greece?"

Xena thought for awhile, "we were sailing for a month or two by the time we reached Greece. I had a feeling something was wrong with me but I chose to ignore it until I couldn't anymore." She then began chuckling lowly to herself. "Remember Eve, when you said you thought you were dying when you found out you were pregnant?"

Eve nodded and exhaled deeply, "I was serious about it too!"

Xena's laugh died down, "I had the same reaction. On the way back from Japa I thought I was dying," her smile lingered.

* * *

After staying in Japa for a year Borias suggested they leave before the emperor decided to come after them too. Their names were already known in Qin and the emperor knew of their schemes. After they didn't find anything worthy in Japa they left in the middle of the night on ship docked in one of the ports. These ships were far different than the Grecian ships, they had rooms below the deck and it was a lot longer than the Greek ships too.

Borias almost preferred them over the Greek ships, but his favorite was definitely the ships of Egypt. Xena brushed her hair away from her face and looked out at the dark sea in front of her. She had been on many ships before and every single journey felt the same though this time, it was different. She felt her stomach churning and she placed her hand over stomach, crinkling her nose.

Borias found her by herself and smiled waltzing over to her. He wrapped his arm around her body from behind and kissed her cheek softly. "Have you had enough of your adventures?" he asked and moved her hair away from her face.

Xena frowned and grabbed hold of his hand and spun around to face him with a weary smile. "These people don't appreciate us," she touched his long hair smiling deviously. He touched her face gently and she felt a wave of nausea overcome her. She frowned lowered her gaze and cringed slightly.

"I'm sure you will be happy to be back in Greece," he smiled and noticed her sudden silence. "What's the matter? Speechless?" he chuckled and she shook her head slowly and he lifted her chin. He saw her cheeks were pale and her eyes wide. He frowned, "what's wrong with you?"

She shook her head and turned around, leaning over the railing and began coughing violently. She vomited in the sea and breathed heavily. Borias looked over and crinkled his nose in disgust. "Ah, Xena..." he sighed heavily. He rest his hand on her back and she stood up straight then frowned at him, slapping his hand away from her.

"Don't touch me," she wiped her lips with her fingers and stormed off going below the deck.

He scoffed, "you're impossible!" he called out to her and she waved her hand dismissing him before disappearing. He groaned folding his arms and decided to keep his distance from her.

* * *

A month later they had stopped in Arabia to gather supplies before making their trek around Africa and then finally to Greece. It felt like so long and normally Xena enjoyed traveling but this was not what she expected. As the ship docked she decided to stay in the room below the deck, laying in bed.

She toyed with the sheets in her hands as she felt the hot sun beaming on her back from the small window in the ship. She sighed and curled her legs close to her body, not feeling herself at all. In her mind, she had a notion what was happening as she had felt it before and instantly she denied it. she didn't want to go through that again, but perhaps it would be different now, she told herself. Borias was here and he obviously wasn't going anywhere and neither was she. Petracles did not care for her and she was more experienced now. After all, if she was carrying a child like she thought, then if Borias reacted the same way Petracles did, she could just leave and be fine on her own without his help. Though, she didn't want to leave, she liked being around him and a small smile came to her lips.

Borias came into the room and her smile disappeared. He frowned and set down a bag of supplies onto the floor. "Still in bed, huh?" he smirked and laid down beside her, wrapping his arm around her. He ran his fingers through her hair and she ignored him. "You should really see a doctor or something," he suggested and kissed her bare shoulder.

She frowned, "I'm fine."

He laughed aloud, "you keep telling yourself that, Xena."

"It'll pass," she shrugged off his arm and he sighed, leaning against a few pillows staring up at the ceiling.

"How do you know?" he asked curiously and raised his eyebrow.

Xena stayed quiet for awhile not sure how to answer that.  _Because I've been through this before_. "I just know," she smirked and turned over on her stomach staring into his eyes. She figured that if she kept ignoring him and distancing herself from him that he would indeed leave and she didn't want that to happen again. She kissed his hand and he smiled at her.

* * *

Xena sighed and thought that was enough of story time and she was actually feeling tired. She didn't know what time it was, but she figured it was definitely bed time. "Well, that's enough for now. You should get some sleep, Eve," she stood up and grabbed hold of her daughter's hand.

Eve sighed, "I guess I should," she stood up with her mother's help. "You say you're not good at telling stories, but you are," she winked. Xena shook her head. "I'm going to check on Luca and Layla before I go to sleep," she kissed her mother's cheek and Gabrielle hopped off the bed.

"I want to come!" she pleaded and Eve chuckled, grabbing her hand and both of them left the room. Xena sighed and sat down on her bed, disrobing and ran her fingers through her hair. This entire week had been very draining and the more stories she told of her past, the more she began to relive them and that was taking a toll on her mind more than she thought. She rarely ever spoke of her past and she never realized how taxing it could be on the body and mind until now. She suddenly felt old. Lying down on the bed, she stared up at the ceiling deep in her own thoughts. One day, she thought, she would be able tell all of those people close to her that she hurt the most.

Closing her eyes she sighed heavily and heard voices from down the hall and it was probably Samuel's loud sisters. She heard that at least every night. She thought that these Persian women never slept, but luckily this was only temporary. She tried to make her mind rest but her eyebrows creased together as her mind kept ticking and turning, remembering things that she thought she had forgotten.

As she lay in bed not able to find sleep she felt a hand touch her leg and her eyes opened immediately. She lifted herself up and expected Gabrielle to be there but she was not there. Her mouth gaped and she saw Borias sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Borias?" she questioned and touched his hand, making sure she wasn't losing her mind.

"Xena," he smirked and kissed her hand gently. She felt her entire body tense up as soon as she saw him. "You look scared," he chuckled, "you're never scared!"

Xena smiled softly, "I'm...not scared," she leaned forward and touched his arm, examining his entire body carefully. He smirked at her disbelief as she kept touching his arms and then her hand roamed to his pantleg and her smile widened. "What are you doing here?" she questioned, a bit confused by his presence.

He shrugged, "someone told me that you wanted to see me," he winked.

She lowered her eyes and chuckled under her breath. As she sat in silence she lifted her head to stare into his dark eyes, "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry for everything that I did to you," she said firmly and was sincere. He looked into her eyes, the same eyes that bewitched him so long ago when she was still a teenager, barely a woman at the time, but now, she was all woman and a very smart one at that. "Will you...forgive me?" she said in a soft tone, almost unable to allow the words to escape from her lips. She never asked for forgiveness.

He touched her cheek and though now she was older, older than he was when he died, she still looked the same in his eyes, perhaps better even. He smiled, "I forgave you a long time ago, Xena."

She felt much lighter now all of a sudden, "really?" she felt like he was lying. "Don't play games with me," she said with a smirk and he chuckled at her teasing.

"You'll never change," he shook his head, "the stubborn woman I always knew." She saw her cheeks redden. "Will you forgive yourself?" he asked with a raised brow.

Xena sighed and was unable to answer that truthfully. She still couldn't still after all these years. Even after he said that he forgave her, she wouldn't be able to. She couldn't bring herself to it.

"you're impossible!" he grinned and Xena chuckled at that phrase. He always said that about her when she was younger and it still had the same ring to it as it did all those years ago. "You've done a good job with Solan," he changed the subject.

Xena nodded, "he's a good person. I'm just sorry I wasn't there for him when he needed me the most."

Borias sighed, "Xena, you were different then and I barely recognize you now," he winked and she smirked at his playfulness. "You are a good mother, Xena," he held onto her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"you think so?" she playfully asked.

"I've seen it for myself!" he smiled. "I watch you more than you think," he whispered leaning in close to her. She suddenly felt awkward and her cheeks reddened once more. "Let go of your past, Xena."

She shook her head, "but I can't." she felt hopeless.

He smiled, "I think you can, but you won't," he kissed her forehead and she smiled softly. She reached for his hand and he disappeared right before her eyes. She blinked, looking around and wondered if she had been dreaming. She stayed sitting up in bed and stared off into space deep into her thoughts.

Gabrielle came back into the room and saw Xena staring at the wall. "The twins are finally asleep. Eve and I had to push Sabine and Asma out of the room," she chuckled and got onto the bed and saw Xena was not listening to her. "Xena?"

Xena finally snapped out of her daze and stared at her blonde consort beside her.

"Are you okay?" she touched her arm.

Xena smiled nodding her head. "Yes, I feel a lot better now," she laid down on her side and Gabrielle raised an eyebrow.

"You were feeling...worse...earlier?" she asked still confused.

Xena stayed smiling, "not anymore," she blew the candles out with a cloth fan and closed her eyes. "Goodnight," she said and Gabrielle laid down on the pillows still a bit miffed. "I love you, Gabrielle," she whispered.

Gabrielle smiled, "love you too, Xena," she rolled over on her side and brought the blankets over her body. Such odd behavior from Xena sometimes, she thought, but she knew it was best not to question it.

* * *

The following day Xena was able to get dressed very quickly early in the morning with Gabrielle by her side of course. As soon as she woke up she immediately started picking out a dress to wear. She hadn't heard any noise from the guests in the neighboring wings, but she figured that they wouldn't be awake until much later in the morning. Hatima suggested that the ceremony should begin in the early afternoon and now Xena understood why. The Persians liked to stay up late and party then wake up late the next day as well.

Xena chose to wear her favorite blue dress that Gabrielle always loved her in. She had it for so many years and figured nobody would wear blue today especially by the looks of Samuel's and Hatima's clothing. Everything was always gold, black, white or beige. It wasn't very common to see a lot of color like red or blue. Occasionally, there was some green but perhaps that was Hatima's style only.

She walked out of her room and entered Eve's room. Hatima was helping her with the gown and she was tying the laces in the back. Eve put on her earrings and smiled as she saw her mother and Gabrielle enter. "Mother!" she grinned and stood up. Her hair was up in a bun with a few curled tendrils hanging around her slender face.

Hatima took a step back and looked to Xena, "what do you think?" she asked the empress.

Eve smoothed out the dress and looked for her mother's approval, "yes mother, what do you think?" she asked, hoping she'd say something but she was silent.

The longer Xena stared at Eve the more she couldn't say anything. Of course, she looked beautiful and no sane person would ever deny that. It didn't matter what she wore though, Xena always thought she looked gorgeous much like Gabrielle thought of Xena.

* * *

_Twelve Years Ago_

It was Eve's eleventh birthday and she decided that she wanted to pick out a special dress. After being uprooted from her home in Athens, she had spent her time in Egypt with her mother and Gabrielle in the meantime. She had taken awhile to get used to the hot weather and new customs. She began to like it but constantly asked her mother when they would be traveling back to Greece and each time she was left dry. Her mother was silent, but today, that would be different.

Xena promised Eve that she would take her to the beaches in Alexandria, which was a few hours away from the palace in Cairo. They arrived yesterday and Eve was dying to go see the beaches. She had missed them a lot since she moved away from Athens. She was so close to the water in Athens and even though her mother forbid her to go outside the walls, sometimes she was lenient and allowed Gabrielle to take her to the beaches in Athens if she behaved well.

Eve picked out a white dress with gold trim in Alexandria with Gabrielle and was very anxious to show her mother. Xena had yet to see it and she slipped it on. She brushed her hair in front of the mirror and tied the sash around her small waist.

Xena came into her daughter's room and saw her wearing a very gorgeous gown with a gold sash around her waist. Eve gasped, "mother! It was supposed to be a surprise!" she pouted. She really wanted to make a grand entrance.

"Well, I'm surprised," Xena smiled and Gabrielle came in after her. She gasped loudly and the empress folded her arms looking at Gabrielle's face. It was hilarious.

Eve twirled around and grinned at her mother, "what do you think, mother?"

Xena stared at her daughter and thought what any mother would say, "you look beautiful," she smiled and Eve sighed heavily.

"you always say that," the pre-teen huffed then came to her mother and hugged her, barely reaching her waist level. She glanced up at her with a large smile and twinkling blue eyes.

* * *

Xena continued to stare at her daughter and saw the anticipation in her eyes. She grinned, "you look beautiful."

Eve smirked, "you always say that," she came to her mother and hugged her tightly. Xena held her breath and hugged her back as tightly as she could. Eve felt her mother squeezing her body very tightly and she couldn't breathe well. "Mother..." she pat her shoulder. "I can't breathe..." she croaked.

Xena pulled away, "sorry," she lowered her eyes and took one last look at her. "Are you ready?" she grabbed her hands firmly with a big smile. Eve nodded nervously. Hatima smiled and grabbed her veil and attached it to her crown following everyone as they left the room.

Early afternoon everyone was already gathered in the room and Samuel was talking with a few of his cousins waiting for everyone to trickle in. Xena walked through the entrance with Hatima and Gabrielle. Everyone turned around and ceased talking. Xena smiled at everyone and it was the first time she laid eyes on all these guests in her home since they arrived. Together, Xena and Gabrielle with Hatima trailing behind, walked down the aisle and everyone bowed their heads.

"It's like they've seen a queen or something," Xena whispered to Gabrielle in a teasing manner.

Gabrielle nudged her, "you're Eve's mother...they have been waiting to see you," she whispered.

They walked to the first row where three seats were available for them. Solan was waiting for them already seated and ready to go. He stood up as soon as he saw them walk in. "Finally!" he said and held Luca in his arms. Xena smiled and stretched her arms out taking the child in her arms. Luca was still sleepy and he looked up into Xena's eyes and grinned a toothless smile. Xena smiled down at him and sat down.

Sabine came up to them with Layla in her arms, Gabrielle took the child from her. The Persian woman smiled warmly at the baby, "she's so adorable!" she could barely contain herself. "I will definitely make an effort to visit them when I'm near the palace in Persia," she said and Gabrielle nodded. Sabine noticed Xena and bowed her head. "Empress," she smiled.

Xena weakly smiled, now feeling awkward at how everyone was treating her, though it couldn't be stopped. "Thank you for watching them."

"Of course!" Sabine smiled and excused herself to go sit with the rest of her sisters on the opposite side of the room.

Gabrielle leaned in close to Xena, "you seem more relaxed than you were yesterday," she whispered.

Xena smiled down at Luca in her arms, "I made peace with something that was bothering me," she said and Gabrielle wasn't sure what she meant by that but as long as it made Xena happy, she didn't question it, for now.

* * *

Awhile later Eve finally came in and Solan was waiting for her. He promised that he'd walk with her. Everyone stood up and now she felt incredibly nervous as everyone's eyes were on her. He offered her his arm and she took it gingerly. "You clean up nicely," he joked.

"Solan..." Eve chided and he chuckled softly.

"A small joke," he said and they walked together down the aisle, which seemed like forever. "You look beautiful, as always," he whispered and Eve blushed, smiling softly.

Samuel had a big grin on his face as he awaited for Eve to come greet her. Solan stopped and he kissed his sister's cheek. "Well I'm afraid this is when I leave," he teased and winked at her then went to stand by his mother and Gabrielle.

Eve walked forward and grabbed Samuel's hand, staring in his green eyes. They looked extremely eager. He kissed her hand and she took a step forward with him. This was definitely a fusion of cultures and Eve did not expect to know anything about a Persian wedding, so she went along with it. The man standing before them spoke in Persian and Eve could understand him well. Samuel smiled at her and she averted her eyes, hiding a smile.

The man wrapped a golden shroud around Samuel and Eve's shoulders and said an incantation softly. Eve looked up at the man and he kept speaking quietly in front of them. He took the shroud off and grabbed a bowl of milk and put it front of Eve. She looked confused and Samuel chuckled. "Dip your hands in it," he whispered and she nodded, feeling silly. She dipped her hands in the milk and then Samuel did the same.

He instructed both of them to stand and they did so. He wrapped a scarf around Eve and handed the end of it to Samuel. Eve turned her head to look back at her mother and Gabrielle. Both of them holding her children and Xena smiled at her warmly, mentally telling her not to fear. Eve grinned and the man told them to walk around the bed of flowers together, three times in unison.

She kept her eye on Samuel the entire time and he smiled at her, almost forgetting anyone was watching around them both.

As soon as they finished walking around three times Samuel held Eve's hands and the scarf was taken from them. She stared in his eyes and felt her heart stop at his touch. He leaned down and kissed her lips gingerly. All the women in the room stood up and began ululating loudly.

Xena's and Gabrielle's eyes widened at the sound the women were making. Gabrielle leaned in towards her, "well I wasn't expecting  _that_..."

Xena looked around and nodded, "Persians," she said flatly.

Eve pulled away and then realized all the sound Samuel's female cousins and sisters were making. Her eyes widened and Samuel laughed at her reaction. "Now you are a Persian Princess," he squeezed her hand. Eve smiled and then both walked down the dais and she came to her mother to see her children.

Xena stood up and handed Luca to her. Eve held Luca in her arms and he smiled up at her. She then looked to her mother with teary eyes. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered. Xena touched her cheek softly and kissed her forehead.

"I'll always be here," she winked and Eve smiled and Xena wiped her tears away from her eyes.

Samuel took Layla from Gabrielle, "I'll be taking this," he joked and Gabrielle hated to give her away. She liked holding either one of the babies and was always sad when they had to be put down for a nap or taken away for a small time. Samuel and Eve left the room and of course all the relatives followed them. Xena and Gabrielle stayed behind and Xena looked on as her daughter left. Even though she was still here, she already felt her absence.

Solan placed a hand on his mother's shoulder, "she'll be fine without you," he said comforting her.

Xena pat his hand, "I know," she said and thanked her son's reassurance. He nodded and ran after his sister and Samuel.

Gabrielle grabbed Xena's hand squeezing it tightly, "she will always need you, you know," she smiled and Xena sighed heavily.

The empress turned to Gabrielle, "I will miss her," she buried her face in her hands and Gabrielle embraced her tightly as they stood in the room alone, together.


	38. Chapter 38

**AN: I said there would be more adventures lol. Surprise :D enjoy.**

Chapter 38

After Eve and Samuel left for the capital, Susa, in Persian Empire, Xena and Gabrielle decided to leave Rome for awhile. Gabrielle felt like Xena needed to get out of the palace for awhile, a long while. Xena wanted to return to Greece to see her land that she had built from the ground up. They visited Delphi first and stayed a month there then traveled to Corinth and stayed a month there. Xena took Gabrielle's advice about being just herself and not an empress. It was difficult at first because everywhere they went, people immediately recognized her and paid their respects to her as usual. Xena told them to stop treating her differently. She wanted to be treated like a regular person, just a traveler, not an empress or royal, just Xena, like Gabrielle said.

Corinth was not as bad as Xena remembered it to be. She had been there a few times since she conquered it and realized she still wasn't well liked there, which was too be expected. But she wanted to explore the city since she was still ruling over it. She found a lot of Carthaginians living there which was odd to her. She didn't expect them to come to Greece let alone Corinth. It definitely wasn't the same Corinth she knew before, it was quite different and actually refreshing to see some different culture there for once. Out of all the cities Xena expected Delphi to be the most accepting of new cultures and religion but Corinth was far ahead of Delphi.

Traveling through smaller cities they came upon Athens as their last stop. Xena missed Athens a lot and that would always be home to her. Rome was fine, and the people there were great, but the Athenians were her home people. They knew her well and it was where her home was for a very long time. She mentioned to Eve that she would possibly rebuild in Athens and she was starting to think that was a good idea. Rome was the capital of the new empire she combined with her old one, but Athens was different, it was her creation.

Xena dismounted her horse and saw her palace in ruins sitting on top of the hill far from civilization. She looked at it and remembered everything that happened there. So many good and bad things occurred there and she could still hear her voice talking with her daughter when she was a child and Gabrielle interacting with the children inside the classrooms. A smile came to her and she felt Gabrielle come beside her.

"Our home," Gabrielle smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. Xena nodded and turned to her.

"I want to rebuild a new palace in Athens!" she beamed and Gabrielle was a bit shocked to hear that.

"Really? You really want to do that?" the blonde questioned.

Xena nodded, "not here though..." she quirked her mouth, "but maybe closer to the city so I can be around the people. I shouldn't be secluded from the people." She folded her arms, "perhaps Rome had the right idea, being in the center of the city. I guess you can always learn new things, even from the Romans," she smirked.

Gabrielle enjoyed seeing so happy about something and it was even better that she had changed her perspective on things as well. "But about this palace? What will you do with it?"

Xena hummed to herself and tapped her chin, "I can turn this place into a university for young students," she smiled and Gabrielle nodded her head, liking that idea very much. "They can attend free of charge," she smiled.

The blonde's eyes widened, "you would allow them free tuition?" she asked and Xena nodded. "That's  _very_  generous of you."

The empress chuckled, "I have a lot of money, Gabrielle. What am I going to do with it? I can't eat it or take it with me to the grave. It would be better if it is put to good use." She folded her arms imagining the grand palace being turned into a school, but a better and bigger school for sure. It was a great idea.

Gabrielle smiled, "so does that mean we're putting off our trip to India?" she asked innocently.

Xena grinned, "just for a little while. I promised we would go, didn't I?" she winked and hugged Gabrielle close to her. The blonde nodded, remembering that Xena did in fact promise that and she would make sure that she'd remember it. "Should we go to the inner city, then? I'd like to see how the city is doing."

"Of course. It'll be like a new adventure!" Gabrielle smiled and skipped over to her horse.

* * *

They rode into the inner city of Athens and Xena was not wearing her traditional garb. She decided not to wear her fancy cape and armor, but instead a white gown with long black sleeves. She didn't want to stand out more than she needed. Her now long hair again, piled atop her head in a large bun and her thick bangs barely covering her eyebrows, rested on her forehead perfectly.

Athens was her home and of course, people would recognize her there which she expected fully. Gabrielle wore a bright blue knee length skirt and bodice to match. It was the beginning of fall and it would be winter in a couple of months but she thanked the gods they wouldn't be spending it in Rome. She missed the winters of Athens a lot. It was not as cold and the snow was very light.

Xena hopped off her horse and tied it to a stable near a tavern. She would be sure that nobody would even try to steal her horse especially since it had the Grecian necklace around its neck to signify who it belonged to. She went to a shop filled with fabrics, antiques and trinkets. Gabrielle watched her carefully and was a bit intrigued as to why Xena would even dare to step inside a shop like that.

"What are you doing in here?" Gabrielle smiled as she followed her in. Xena picked up some gold fabric that had white embossed flowers on it. She held it in her hands to ensure that the fabric was of good quality.

The shopkeeper came up to her and bowed his head slightly, "Empress, that fabric is from Egypt. The finest cotton I have," he smiled.

Xena nodded and turned to the man, "how much is it for two yards?" she asked. Gabrielle blinked, is she seriously asking how much fabric is?

He grinned, "for you, nothing," he bowed his head.

Xena sighed, "I don't want anything for free. How much is it?" she smiled kindly at him and he seemed baffled as to why she was asking for something like this and she wouldn't accept it for free.

He stammered, "normally, I charge ten dinars per yard, but for you, I will charge five..." he said, hoping that she'd accept.

She nodded and pulled out twenty dinars, the full price for the fabric. He looked in his hand and shook his head, "no, no. I can't accept this, empress," he refused and tried to give it back to her.

She closed his fist and smiled softly, "I told you, I don't want anything for free," she handed him the fabric. "So two yards, right?" she said and he slowly nodded, slipping the coins in his pocket.

Gabrielle grabbed her arm, "he was offering it to you for free, then a discount, why did you refuse?" she whispered. The man went over to the table and measured out the fabric and cut it carefully.

"Because I am not an empress right now, Gabrielle," she smirked and walked over to the table and the shopkeeper put the fabric into a bag for her. "Thank you for this," she picked up the bag and he bowed his head at her.

She left the shop with the bag placed on her arm and Gabrielle thanked the man before leaving as well. "What's the fabric for?" she asked curiously.

Xena smiled, "the twins' first birthday is in a few months. I want to send them some traditional Greek clothes. I'm sure they're spoiled by Hatima, though." She sighed and Gabrielle grinned. "Eve sent a letter last week and told me that Samuel would be leaving on a trip to Scythia."

Gabrielle frowned, "Scythia? Have you been there?"

She shook her head, "no I've never been there. I heard that they are ruthless killers."

That worried Gabrielle immensely. "I hope Samuel returns safely. Did she say when he would return?"

Xena sighed, "if it is a political trip, he could be gone for months. Since he is King, he most likely did not tell her why he was going. We used to go on those trips often, remember?" she nudged Gabrielle.

The blonde nodded, "oh I remember. Once, we were gone for four months in Anatolia and left Solan to watch Eve when she was three years old. She was so happy to see you," she smiled. "I remember when she was ten and you told her you were going to travel to Morocco for awhile. She didn't want you to leave."

Xena smiled, "the longest two months of my life," she half joked. "I realized I spent most of Eve's childhood absent until she was fourteen." She sighed and thought maybe that was why Eve was so rebellious throughout her teen years and was so obstinate at times. "She is lucky that she does not have to do that."

Gabrielle nodded, "very lucky. I am sure she appreciates everything you have done for her," she saw a seamstress shop and pointed at it, "we can take the fabric there to be made into clothes!" she pulled Xena along.

* * *

After they visited the rest of the city Xena and Gabrielle trotted through the outskirts of Athens to the more suburban areas with larger homes and more farmland. There was a group of people throwing stones at some cloaked men and women.

Gabrielle looked ahead and Xena squinted her eyes. "What are they doing?!" she yelled and Xena pulled on her reins and rode down the hill to see what was happening. Obviously it was not a friendly welcome.

Xena dismounted her horse and decided not to pull out her sword to ensure more violence. The Athenians stopped throwing stones at the cloaked people. They bowed their heads and Xena frowned. "Why are you hurting these people?" she asked and nobody answered. "I asked a question," her voice deepened.

Gabrielle jumped off her horse and saw a man's head was bleeding and there was a large wound on the side of his head. She ran to him and lifted his head in her lap. "Why would you do this to these people?!" she frowned and touched the wound carefully. The young man winced and she stood up, "put him on my horse," she demanded and his friends lifted him up, a bit shocked to see the Greek empress and her scribe, lending a helping hand.

One of the Athenians spoke up and took off his hat, "their kind are not welcome here, empress," he lowered his gaze.

Xena raised an eyebrow and saw many of the travelers were badly wounded. "Everyone is welcome in Athens. What makes these people so different?" she asked calmly.

The man lifted his eyes and stared into the empress's scary blue eyes. "They talk of the one god, empress! They are trying to pervert the ways of the Olympians! The true gods of the world!" he said and the others around him agreed, nodding their heads.

One God...Xena had heard this before when Eris came and threatened Samuel and Solan. She mentioned this worship of the One God once and Xena thought nothing of it but it seems that this was a pattern and perhaps she should have listened to Eris more closely instead of ignoring her. "We do not persecute those who believe in a different religion than we do," Xena said eloquently. She placed her hands on her hips and looked to Gabrielle who was helping the wounded and talking with them at a fair distance away. Turning her attention back to her fellow Athenians.

"For your intolerance, you will be tried in Rome to receive your punishment. A letter will be sent to you and..." she smiled, "don't try to escape because I will make sure your punishment is a lot worse,  _understand_?" she said and the Athenians nodded their heads, quite fearful of her.

She nodded and sighed heavily. She went to Gabrielle, "so, how does it look?" she looked at the man's wounded head and Gabrielle shook her head.

"He needs medical attention," she sighed. Xena saw a woman with her two children and whistled for her horse to come to her.

Xena pulled on the reins and knelt down towards the small little girls with a smile. She extended her hand, "would you like to ride on my horse?" she asked and the girls shied away from her. "She's very gentle," she enticed them.

The girls looked to one another and then took Xena's hand. She lifted both girls up onto her horse and they had bright big smiles on their faces. Their mother came to Xena with worrisome eyes. "Empress," she bowed her head and Xena sighed, getting tired of people doing that. She lifted the woman up and stared into her teary eyes. "Thank you for...saving us."

Xena looked back at the Athenians who were now retreating from the area. "Yes, well...I'm sorry that happened to you and your friends," she frowned deeply. "Athens is a place for everyone. I will make sure that does not happen again. I'm sorry," she apologized.

The woman looked shocked to see the empress apologize to her, of all people, a simple woman receiving an apology from the Greek Empress. And she even offered her horse to her daughters as well. The girls smiled down at the empress and their mother smiled up at them. "what do you say?" she prompted her daughters.

"Thank you," both said in unison and Xena winked at them both.

Gabrielle tapped Xena's shoulder, "where should we take them?" she whispered.

Xena realized that she did not have a home in Athens anymore and they weren't in Rome, otherwise she'd take them to the palace to be treated and housed. Though, she did have some spots outside of Athens that she kept if she needed them. "We can take them to the mansion in Megara," she suggested. "It's only a few hours from Athens," she whispered and looked at the hurt man struggling to stay awake.

Gabrielle nodded, "sounds like a good idea," she pulled the reins of her horse and lead the way. Xena pulled her horse along with the two girls sitting happily, enjoying the ride. "do you think he will be alright until we get there?"

Xena looked back at him and saw the man was slumped over on Gabrielle's horse. "He will be alright, we'll just have to move quickly," she smiled at the giggling girls while their mother walked behind the horse. "I didn't think we'd have such an adventure coming back to Greece," she smirked.

Gabrielle giggled, "there's always new adventures when you're around. You're a magnet for disaster!" she joked.

"Very funny," Xena said flatly. "But true," she smiled and walked alongside her.

* * *

About four hours later they came to the large estate in Megara. Gabrielle knew Xena had several hiding spots although she didn't know about the secret palace in Egypt until she mentioned it last winter. That was a surprise, but she was not surprised that she had several hidden places in Greece. She probably had one in every neighboring city to Athens. Megara was pretty nice and it was a quiet place so not many people passed through here.

The mansion was considerably smaller than the Athenian palace, but definitely bigger than a regular home for a family. Xena stepped inside the home and lit all the candles lighting the home. It hadn't been used in over ten years though she let people stay here for free as long as they kept the home clean and up to date.

The men carried the injured man and Xena pointed to a sofa in the sitting area. "Over there. He'll have to stay there for now." She folded her arms and saw Gabrielle's eyes wandering around. "Nice isn't it?"

"Small for your taste," Gabrielle teased. "But I like it."

Xena shrugged her shoulder, "believe it or not Gabrielle, I do not like large palaces even though I lived in one for many years. It's just for looks and authority," she smiled. She pulled on her arm, "come with me to the kitchen to find some herbs," she whispered leaving the people to gather around their hurt friend.

Awhile later they came back with a water basin and found some rosemary for pain and Xena washed her hands thoroughly. Everyone stood back and watched the empress doctor this man's wounded head like a professional. They all seem shocked that she knew how to do this and so well too. She knew exactly what to do and was very calm through the entire process.

Xena took a bandage and ripped it with her teeth and Gabrielle lifted the man's head so Xena could wrap the bandage around it. "So where are you all from?" she asked as she kept wrapping the bandage around. They were all quiet and she looked to the man opposite her.

He cleared his throat, "we're from Scythia, empress," he bowed his head politely.

Xena and Gabrielle shared a glance with one another. Both recalled the letter Eve sent about Samuel leaving for Scythia. What a coincidence, Xena thought to herself. Gabrielle rested the man's head back down on the pillow. "Why did you leave your homeland?" she was now more curious.

"We didn't leave, we were exiled," he answered immediately this time.

Xena nodded and stood up, "is something happening in Scythia?"

Everyone fell silent again and she realized that obviously there was something wrong and of course since the Persian Empire bordered Scythia, there was indeed a problem which lead to Samuel leaving on a mission to solve it. The Assyrian Kingdom also shared borders with the Scythians as well, so she hoped that Allat had his kingdom squared away before he left for Qin with Solan.

Xena saw the tired little girls and smiled at them, bending down to their eye level. "There's a room upstairs you can both stay in. I think you will like it very much," she winked and the girls looked at her curiously. She stood up and extended both her hands to them. They took her hands and she lead them upstairs. She needed to talk to these people and obviously children shouldn't be subjected to this kind of conversation.

* * *

Coming upstairs Xena opened the room and lit a few candles in the dark room. It was definitely a room fit for a princess, with a large bed and filled with dolls and various toys. The girls' eyes lit up and ran into the room immediately for the dolls.

Gabrielle came to the room and her jaw dropped, "wow," she said. "This room is for a child..." she eyed Xena.

The empress sighed, folding her arms watching the girls playing with the toys. "I had this place built just after Eve was born just in case we needed to stay here in case something happened in Athens."

Gabrielle smirked, "you always have a backup plan," she shook her head and Xena smiled nodding in agreement.

"You two like this room?" she asked the girls and they turned around nodding their heads vigorously. Xena smiled and closed the door allowing the two to be by themselves so she could go back downstairs to get information from these Scythians.

* * *

The injured man fell asleep soon after Xena gave him the rosemary tea and he was covered with a blanket to rest from their journey. Xena sat in a chair and others sat as well, being rather quiet. "So, why were you all exiled from Scythia?"

The woman spoke up this time, "the new king in Scythia banished everyone who did not follow his religion. A lot of people were exiled –"

"The One God believers?" Xena wanted to clarify and the woman nodded her head. "So you aren't Zoroastrians?" she asked, thinking of Samuel and his religion that Eris seemed to hate a lot.

The people looked confused and the woman said, "no, that religion died in Scythia long ago. I know the Persians are follows of Zoroaster, but I know that will soon change. Many of Scythians fled to Persia for asylum."

This was starting to make a lot more sense now and Xena was starting to put the pieces together. Samuel was on a political mission to meet with the King of Scythia. As far as she knew, the Scythians were friendly with the Persians, but she never cared too much about the Persians until recently because of Eve. "And you aren't Israelites?" she asked, now feeling confused.

One of the men interrupted, "there are no Israelites in Scythia, empress."

Xena frowned, "I'm not following."

"We are Christians," he said plainly and Xena looked to Gabrielle for information but she shrugged her shoulders feeling just as lost as she was. "The new king does not like us and said he would kill us all if we did not convert to his religion so we decided to leave. Many of us traveled to Persia, Greece and Rome."

Xena nodded, feeling completely unaware of this new religion and honestly she felt stupid that she didn't know about it. she felt even more stupid once he said that they were fleeing to Greece and Rome, both places she knew very well. This was all happening right under her nose and she felt that she needed to be informed about it and since she wasn't, she felt a bit out of the loop, completely involved in her own life, which wasn't a crime, but she still had to deal with politics. She'd never escape politics or religion in her life as empress. To be truthfully honest, she didn't care for any kind of religion, but Gabrielle did. She followed the Olympians but Xena prayed to nobody. She didn't care what religion her people chose to follow, but she did care if people were being persecuted in her own land.

"I'm sorry but I had no idea," Xena rubbed her forehead feeling conflicted. "How many of you are there?"

He sighed, "thousands, empress. The Persian King kindly let our people stay in his land without persecution."

Of course, Samuel was unlike his father. If Phraates was still alive he'd probably follow the Scythian king and make all these people convert to Zoroastrianism and banish them from Persia too. Gabrielle cleared her throat, "can I talk to you for a minute?" she whispered to Xena.

Xena smiled, "excuse me," she stood up and followed Gabrielle to the hallway outside the room.

"We should contact Samuel's vizier," she whispered.

Xena shook her head, "I don't like his vizier, he's a snake and probably won't give us any information."

Gabrielle folded her arms biting her lip nervously, "well we need to contact Samuel somehow. Xena, we are allies with Persia, we need to be informed about this. This is obviously a problem and we need to help these people," she hissed.

"I agree, but I don't know how to help them. If the Scythian king disagrees with Samuel then there might be a war between the two kingdoms," she exhaled sharply.

The blonde buried her head in her hands, "we can't let that happen. We have worked so hard not to have any more problems like this. If a war broke out between those two, we would help Samuel, right?"

Xena nodded, "yes, of course, but the key is to stop a war before it happens. Samuel is not experienced enough to deal with political issues like this." She felt conflicted once again. Returning to the room she smiled at everyone and they stared at her. "You all can stay here if you like. There's plenty of rooms for each of you." Everyone smiled at her and she disappeared into the hallway again walking to a nearby room behind the staircase.

Gabrielle followed her and came to a large room, which she assumed this is where they would be sleeping for now. Xena took off her sword and chakram throwing it on the bed. "So what are we going to do?" she asked.

Xena sighed, "it seems that I cannot escape politics wherever I go. I can't be far from home or something always happens." She was beginning to feel extremely tired of this. She was tired and feeling hopeless about everything. There were always going to be new problems that arose. "I'm too old for this," she mumbled.

Gabrielle came behind her and wrapped her arms around Xena's torso. "They need you Xena, and I know you feel tired. I am too," she sighed and Xena remained quiet. "If anyone can help I know it's you," she smiled.

Xena turned around and weakly grinned staring in her green eyes. "Thank you Gabrielle," she touched her cheek and kissed her forehead. "We need to send a letter to Rome to inform my men what is happening. In the meantime, I'd like to stay in Greece to be on the lookout for more people like them."

Gabrielle nodded, "of course Xena. I'll be here with you," she grinned. "I think we should send a letter to Hatima too. She is the queen of Persia, she has the right to know."

"I'm sure she knows already. She was Samuel's advisor when he was too young to take the throne as king when he was a boy." She looked to her, "but we should notify her that we know. Tomorrow write a letter to Rome and Hatima." Gabrielle nodded her head ready for anything. As much as Xena hated war as she aged, the thought of it excited her and got her blood pumping. She lived for war, but she loved justice. She wanted to win and when she lost, it was never good.

* * *

_Persia_

The scribe of the royal court of Persia came into queen Hatima's room as she was sewing by herself near the window. "Queen Hatun," he announced and she lifted her eyes from her sewing. "A message from Greece," he came closer.

Hatima stood up and walked over to the scribe. She took the letter from him and he bowed his head leaving the room instantly. She saw the Athenian seal and immediately knew it was from Xena. Frowning she broke the seal and opened the letter, reading over it quickly.

As soon as she finished reading the letter she rolled it back up and stormed out of the room in a hurry. She saw Eve walking into the palace with the twins holding both of her hands as they walked slowly with her. "Hatima," Eve grinned and the queen nervously grinned at her. "What's wrong with you?" she chuckled seeing the ghostly face of the queen.

Hatima shook her head, "nothing, I just got a letter from your mother," she smiled.

Eve's eyes lit up immediately, "really? What did she say? Is she doing alright?"

The queen nodded, "she sends her well wishes to you and the children. She is sending a present for their birthday," she smiled.

Eve sighed, "I thought she would come here," she hoped that her mother would, but she knew that she was busy. She shrugged her shoulder, "I know she's preoccupied in Rome," she picked up Layla in her arms as Luca held onto her dress tightly so he wouldn't fall down. "Did she say anything else?"

Hatima couldn't tell Eve about the news that Xena spoke about because it was not her place and Eve was not queen and therefore not involved in politics in Persia. Perhaps in Greece it was different, but here, she was not to know. It was confidential. She tucked the letter into her sleeve. "No, nothing more."

Eve nodded, she knew her mother was not a woman of many words and her letters were usually curt and short. Straight to the point. "Do you know when Samuel will come back? He's been gone for a few weeks now."

Hatima shook her head, "I don't know when he will return, princess," she smiled softly. "Excuse me," she left the room to go talk to the vizier about Xena's letter.

Eve sighed heavily and grabbed Luca's hand, "grandmothers and their secrets," she smiled and carefully walked over down the hallway to their playroom. "But we don't need them, right?" she said playfully and Layla smiled at her.

As they walked down the hall together a large flaming object was thrown through the stain glassed window and nearly missed Eve and the children. Eve gasped and ducked down covering Luca with a protective arm. Both children began crying and she looked around to see another object thrown through another window.

The guards came to her side lifting her up off the floor. One of the maids came and picked up Luca. The guards looked out the window and pulled out their bows and shot arrows at the attackers outside the palace walls. There was a giant mob of them and the guards outside the palace were trying to push them away with brute force.

Eve and the maid came to the children's room and Eve set Layla down in her bed and frowned. The maid was more frantic than she was. Eve wanted to see what was going on and she began leaving the room. "Princess, it's too dangerous!" she called out. "Princess!" she began to panic and sat down with Luca crying in her arms.

Eve stormed down the hall and saw a flaming arrow shot into the palace. She ducked down and then slowly stood up looking over the window sill. A mob of angry foreigners crowded around the palace. One of the guards pulled on her arms and she growled.

"Your highness, I need to get you to safety!" he yelled.

Eve wiggled out of his hold, "let go of me!" she demanded.

"Princess, it's dangerous!" he firmly said and grabbed her arm again. "By orders of my king, I am sworn to protect you," he said as she tried to get out of his hold. She did not like being handled like this and kicked the guard out of the way and grabbed his bow and arrows, running down the hallway. "Your majesty!" he groaned, "stop her!" he yelled at the other surrounding guards.

* * *

Eve went to the entrance dodging all of the Persian guards and pulled the lever to allow the heavy doors open. She groaned and pulled the chains down and slowly the doors creaked open. She ran outside and saw the swarm of people around the palace.

She looked for a high place and saw guards from inside trying to catch her and she saw a staircase outside and ran up it as fast as she could. She grabbed two arrows and pulled the bow's string back and shot two of the attackers.

Immediately she was seen and the attackers came to the entrance of the palace. She turned her head and saw the guards were too busy trying not let people come inside. Slicing people left and right. She moved up higher ducking down as flaming arrows were barely missing her.

She knelt down and peeked over the edge of the wall. She drew three arrows this time and stood up shooting them in the air and injured three more people. Ducking down she grabbed another arrow and stood up and gasped as she saw an arrow coming straight for her.

The arrow struck her in her shoulder and she cried out in agony as she fell against the wall behind her. Hissing in pain she took the arrow she dropped and breathed out heavily. Standing up again she drew the bow and cringed as she felt the pain in her shoulder worsen. She released the arrow and shot the person who shot her with the arrow. The man wailed in agony and fell to the ground. Ducking again she leaned against the wall and broke the shaft of the arrow and threw it aside breathing heavily.

She heard super loud drums and horns from the palace guards a few floors above her. That signaled that there was an invasion and that only meant that they needed to protect the queen of course, and herself. She grabbed onto the arrow and took in a deep breath and pushed the arrowhead through the other side of her body and whined in pain, trying to hold it in, she bit her tongue.

Throwing the arrowhead aside she breathed heavily and put her hand over the wound, sealing it and clotting the blood flowing. She stood up and descended down the stairs quickly. There was no way she could get back into the palace through the entrance and she knew the entire map of the palace including all the secret passageways. She opened a door behind the staircase and went inside, closing the door behind her. This would lead her to her bedroom in safety, she hoped.

She made sure that she knew all the ins and outs of this palace. Her mother taught her to know everything about her surroundings and while Hatima and Samuel were busy, she made sure to find the blueprints of this palace and study them carefully. She was able to memorize the entire map of the palace without their knowledge.

Coming into her bedroom she exhaled sharply, feeling the full effects of her wound now. Cringing she threw the bow down and searched in her drawer to find an herb to stop infection. Rummaging through the found alcohol and poured it on the wound. Biting her lip she grabbed some dried herbs and packed her own wound, hissing at the stinging pain.

She ripped some of the curtain off and tore open her dress, wrapping her shoulder carefully. She exhaled slowly, allowing the pain to subside for now. After she poorly dressed the wound she wanted to find Hatima.

* * *

Exiting her room she saw many guards swarming her and she put her hand up, "out of my way," she demanded and they stepped aside. She saw Hatima talking with the vizier in hushed tones. They stopped talking once they saw her.

Hatima gasped, "Eve, your shoulder!" she immediately ran towards her, instantly concerned.

Eve put her hand up to stop her. "What is going on and why are we being attacked?" she frowned deeply, not feeling very loving at the moment. Hatima remained silent and averted her gaze. "You know something," she hissed and glared over at the vizier whom had a blank face. "What else did my mother say in that letter?"

Silence.

Eve huffed and folded her arms, cringing at the subtle pain in her shoulder. "I want to read it."

Jazar, the vizier chuckled, "that is highly irregular, princess. Letters brought to the queen are confidential."

The princess raised an eyebrow, "my mother is Empress of Greece and Rome. If she wanted to send me a letter it would be addressed to  _me_. She doesn't send letters to queens or kings unless something is wrong." She looked at Hatima. "Tell me what is going on," she commanded.


	39. Chapter 39

**AN: life in Persia is beginning to not turn out the way Eve had hoped it would.**

Chapter 39

Hatima stood in silence as Eve stood before her waiting for an answer. By rules of the court, the queen is unable to tell anyone of any confidential letters that are sent to her unless the king asks for it, then she is able to share it, but since Eve is neither a queen or king, she is merely just a princess and these rules are different than the ones in Greece. When Eve was with her mother and as she aged, Xena was able to share letters with her since she was the heir to her throne, but in Persia, those rules did not apply.

"I'm waiting," Eve folded her arms and felt her shoulder aching, though she chose to ignore it.

Jazar frowned at the audacity of this Greek princess. He never liked her and he certainly did not like her mother either, but she was living here and he couldn't stop that. "Princess, your mother may tell you her political matters, but in Persia we do things differently." He bowed his head slightly at her.

Eve glared at the vizier, "I just got attacked not once, but multiple times and two of those times were with my children in my arms! I deserve to know what is going on!"

Hatima understood her frustration and sighed heavily, "Eve, I cannot tell you what your mother sent me. I'm sorry but those are the rules."

Jazar smiled and Eve huffed, "well this is ridiculous! I am not even safe in my own home."

One of the guards that Eve kicked on the floor came running up to the queen with a few of his men behind him. "Queen Hatun, the palace is on lock down right now. My men are trying to push the crowd out. You and.." he frowned at Eve, "the princess, are not to leave the palace until it is safe."

Eve scoffed, "safe? That's funny. I want to send a letter to my mother immediately. If you won't tell me what's going on then she will," she began to storm off and the guards blocked the exit with their staffs. She groaned and tried to side step them but they wouldn't allow her through. "Get out of my way," she protested and they refused to move.

Jazar chuckled under his breath and Hatima glared at him. "Eve, nobody is to leave or come into the palace until the military says so."

Eve's chambermaid came out from the hallway and bowed her head towards Eve and Hatima. "Princess, your children need you," she said softly.

Eve cursed silently to herself and turned to follow her maid, "this conversation isn't over," she pointed to Hatima and left the room and retreated down the hallway to see Luca and Layla.

The royal guard stepped forward and bowed his head at his queen. "Your majesty, the princess left the palace and attacked a few of the intruders. She defied a direct order from the king," he told her and Hatima buried her face in her hands. She always knew Eve was independent, thanks to her upbringing in Greece with her mother and Gabrielle. Xena let her do whatever she wanted and even sent her on missions to other lands when she came of age. In Persia, things were different and so far Eve had adjusted well, but she was not educated on the rules here.

Samuel was pretty lenient with Eve and allowed her to do pretty much anything she wanted within reason. She was allowed to leave the palace whenever she wanted without his permission and even took the children with her outside the palace walls to explore. She had only been here for three months and he allowed her so much leeway in and outside the palace. Hatima was beginning to wonder if Eve would be able to adjust with the rules of Persia. As a princess and wife of the king, she was supposed to stay inside unless he allowed her to go outside, but she was an exception to these rules only because Samuel allowed it. He is king and whatever he said, it was done. Now that he was gone, Hatima was in charge and she feared that Eve might disobey her if she gave a direct order.

Jazar came close to Hatima and cleared his throat, "Queen Hatun, this princess is not like us. She does not abide by the rules. She goes as she pleases and has already broken three rules in one day!" he frowned and Hatima folded her arms in silence. "The king allows her to do whatever she pleases. She is poisonous to the Hatun Family."

Hatima turned her head and widened her large green eyes, "vizier, are you speaking ill of the king's wife? If so, you know that is treason."

He smiled, nodding his head slowly, "not speaking ill of her majesty, but simply pointing out the facts, Queen Hatun," he bowed his head lowering his gaze. "The Greeks have not been friendly towards us for a long time until the king decided to marry the empress's daughter."

"I have had no quarrels with the Greeks, vizier. It was my late husband that had a problem with them. Being half Greek myself, I never understood the hatred between them," she sighed shaking her head and placed her hands on her hips. "The problem we are facing are not because of the Greeks anyway," she snapped her fingers at her scribe, "I want to send a letter back to Xena." She left the room and her scribe followed her diligently.

Jazar frowned as soon as the queen left and he decided to speak to Eve by himself. He came up to the royal guard, "do not let the princess leave her room until it is safe."

"Yes grand vizier," he bowed his head and told his men behind him of the orders.

* * *

Eve had Luca in her lap as she sat at her desk in her room and began writing a lengthy letter to her mother. She was very upset that Hatima was unable to tell her what the letter said, but she forgot that she was not in Greece anymore. Persia was even more different than she originally thought. They were far more conservative than the Greeks were. Her mother allowed her to do as she pleased within reason of course, but never in her life had she had an attack within the palace walls in Athens. Nobody dared attacked Xena's home and Eve knew she was safe there, but here, this was quite odd. The palace was not far from the main square of Susa, so it was close, but she was surprised that the security would even allow these people to come within ten yards of the palace. This would not happen in Athens, she thought.

Luca reached forward for the ink pad and Eve grabbed his tiny hand. "Stop it," she said and he looked up at her as she continued writing trying not to let her son distract her. He reached up and began playing with her necklace and he put the pendant in his mouth, chewing on it.

A knock came to the door and Eve turned around and saw her chambermaid with Layla on the floor playing. "I will get it," the maid said and left Layla on the floor. She opened the door and saw Jazar standing there with an eerie smile on his face. "Grand vizier," she bowed her head.

Eve frowned and set the quill down and put the letter in the drawer. "You never come to my room, vizier," she smiled falsely at him. She set Luca down to play with Layla and the chambermaid. She waltzed over to the door and he wanted to come in and she blocked the door with her hand. "What can I do for you?" she smirked not trusting this man at all. She never liked him and she knew her mother didn't either.

He chuckled nervously, "I just wanted to see if you were alright. You have quite a wound," he gestured to her injured shoulder.

"It'll heal," she bluntly said.

"I just wanted to remind you," he narrowed his eyes, "you are the king's wife and he allows you the freedom to do as you please," he smiled sneakily. "But lest you forget, he is still king and you are but a princess, not a queen. Her majesty Hatun, will be overseeing the king's orders in his absence." He leaned in closer to her and saw her children playing together, "do not forget your  _place_ ," he whispered and then turned to storm down the hall.

Eve's jaw dropped and she closed the door. Turning around she folded her arms, "he is so nervy," she groaned and went back to write the letter to her mother.

"Princess, be careful of the vizier. He has a lot of power," the chambermaid said as Layla was crawling all over her.

Eve began furiously writing and frowned, "Kosem, could you put the children to bed? I am going to be up for awhile writing this," she dipped the quill in the ink and continued without another word.

Kosem nodded, "of course, princess." She grabbed both of their small hands and smiled at them as they left the room to go across the hall to their room.

* * *

Xena and Gabrielle left Megara and Xena allowed the Scythian Christians to stay in the estate while she continued to travel across various cities in Greece. In Athens, obviously they were very unwelcoming to these displaced Scythians but Xena wanted to see if this happened elsewhere. She felt so out of the loop and figured she had been gone from Greece far too long. Rome was the new capital of the empire, but since Eve and Samuel were staying with her, she completely ignored her homeland, the place where she started. Greece missed her and she was glad that she returned.

They traveled to Thebes, a city in between Athens and Megara, to see if anything had changed. Gabrielle trotted on her horse next to Xena enjoying all of the scenery. "I haven't been to Thebes in a long time!"

Xena smiled, "me either. Thank you for coming with me Gabrielle."

"Why wouldn't I?" Gabrielle smiled and Xena looked around her and saw the villages in the outskirts of Thebes. She frowned and saw many of the homes were on fire and people laid dead in the road. "By the gods, what is this?" the blonde covered her mouth looking at the travesty in front of them.

Xena groaned and pulled on her horse's reins and rode down the road to see the damage. She hopped off her horse and saw dead bodies in the road. She saw a small brunette girl lying on the cold ground and Xena's eyes widened. She came to the girl and grazed her cheek with her hand. The girl held a toy in her hand and Xena saw a necklace around the girl's neck. Squinting her eyes she sighed, "I'm sorry," she ripped the necklace off and examined it. "Scythians..." she muttered.

Gabrielle walked around looking at all the bodies lying lifelessly in the streets. "This is terrible," she mumbled and Xena came to her side showing her a necklace.

"These people are Scythian. They were murdered by my...people," Xena clenched the necklace in her fist and saw a few people still alive and they were obviously Greek. She approached them and drew her sword. The people's eyes grew in fear and immediately dropped to their knees. "Are you responsible for this massacre?!" she pointed the sword at the frightened people.

One man lifted his head with his hands in the air, begging for mercy. "Empress, we had no choice," he stammered in fear.

Xena narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow. "You murdered all of these people! Why?!" she begged to know the answer and they remained silent. "Answer me!" she yelled and they shuddered in fear.

"They...they wanted asylum here from their king," a woman answered for them all finally. "We know where they come from! We wanted to no part of it!"

The man next to her, probably her husband, agreed with her. "Yes empress! The Scythians are violent and ruthless killers!"

The empress snarled at them, "can a child be a ruthless killer?" she pointed at all the dead children surrounding her. "Look at them!" she yelled and they lowered their gaze in fear of her. "You murdered all of these children knowing they could not defend themselves." She groaned and grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him along with her. They walked across the field and she threw him on the ground. He laid next to a dead boy, no older than twelve and his eyes widened. "Does he look like a killer to you?" she asked and he shook his head.

Gabrielle came to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Xena..." she said lowly and Xena ignored her and pressed her boot against the man's neck forcing his face into the dirt. "Xena!" she said louder this time, "that's enough," she said and Xena sighed releasing the man. He quickly got up and started running away from her back to his family.

Xena frowned and brushed past Gabrielle coming back to the group of people once more. "If you kill people in Greece, you are killing in  _my_  name. I am the one who faces the consequences! I have given you all everything that you ever wanted and you choose to taint my name with unnecessary violence and...murder," she hissed.

She sheathed her sword and turned to Gabrielle, "send a letter to my men in Delphi. I want all of these people arrested including the people in Athens," she went to her horse and looked at the necklace in her hand, she put it in her cloak pocket and mounted the horse.

Gabrielle ran after her and grabbed her horse's reins. "What do you mean arrest them?" she asked, feeling worried now.

"They should be punished for their crimes Gabrielle. Send the letter," she glared down at her and Gabrielle sighed and Xena trotted off to survey the rest of the city. As she watched Xena leave she was beginning to see a deadly pattern in Xena as the years went on. She had spells of retreating back to her old ways at times and she hoped that she would do as she said, and just arrest them and that is all. She agreed with her that these people committed a crime, but she only hoped that Xena would not kill them inhumanely as she had done in the past. She hoped that Xena was passed that phase of her life.

* * *

They decided to stop in the main square of Thebes and things seemed pretty quiet here not like in the village areas. Gabrielle sat across from Xena in a large inn and was writing, but she kept losing concentration. "Are you going to kill them?"

Xena looked up at her as she tapped her fingers on the goblet. "Why are you asking me that?" she wondered.

"I just want to know. You had a strange look in your eyes," Gabrielle twirled the quill in her fingers nervously looking into Xena's unreadable eyes.

"Would it bother you if I did?" Xena asked sincerely.

Gabrielle sighed and set the quill down, "yes!" she grabbed Xena's hand and intertwined her fingers together with hers, "please Xena, don't do this again."

Xena slipped her hand away from Gabrielle's. "You have been in many wars and battles with me Gabrielle. I have never been able to win a war with love and peace. In my absence, these people have forgotten my rules and regulations. If people defy me...I must act on it. They must pay for their consequences." She stared into her green eyes, "you understand don't you?" she smiled weakly.

Gabrielle nodded, "I understand, but I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it Gabrielle, but it must be done." She sipped on the wine and sighed looking around at the people surrounding them. Luckily, they were sitting in a corner far from people as she did not want to be bothered.

"You are not willing to give them another chance at life?" she mumbled. "Be a merciful empress, Xena."

Xena frowned and folded her arms, "I do not show mercy to murderers, Gabrielle. Half of those people they killed were children, not men, but children. I have killed many people in my life, but never have I ever killed a child and I will not allow my own people to commit such heinous acts in my name. it makes me look like a tyrant and a dictator."

Gabrielle said nothing and began writing again. She needed the distraction definitely. As she was writing she saw Xena in deep thought, thinking to herself. "What do you think Samuel is discussing with the Scythian king?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Xena blinked her eyes and stared at Gabrielle intensely, "I don't know, but I hope he is negotiating with him to allow his people to stay in his kingdom."

"I don't think that is going to happen and I definitely don't think the people will ever return to Scythia," Gabrielle sighed feeling sorry for those displaced people. "You don't know  _anything_  about the Scythians?"

Xena shook her head, "nothing. I never dealt with them before because they never were a problem for me until now..." she groaned and tapped her fingers on the table. "Are you finished with the letter?"

"about that," Gabrielle folded her hands on the table and Xena stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know if it's such a good idea to send out for your military to arrest those people, Xena."

Xena pinched the bridge of her nose, "Gabrielle, I've already explained this to you. They must pay for their crimes!"

Gabrielle nodded, "I understand that, but Xena, they are ignorant of their crimes. Allow them another chance. Instead of arresting them why don't you tell them to do charitable work in exchange? They could work off their crimes and they wouldn't have to pay money to the empire's treasury."

Xena thought for awhile about what Gabrielle said and it wasn't such a bad idea. She still had much to learn apparently even after all these years. "So I should use love to combat their violence?" she said unsure of what was coming out of her mouth.

The blonde smiled, "exactly! This way, it will show that you are merciful and kind."

The empress sighed, "these things usually don't work with crimes such as this Gabrielle, but I will trust you and choose your way, for now." She raised her finger, "but if they do it again, then it's back to my way." Gabrielle nodded with a smirk and tore up the parchment that she was writing. Xena smiled shaking her head at what Gabrielle made her do sometimes. She meant well, but sometimes, things cannot be solved in a peaceful manner like she wished they could.

"So," Gabrielle exhaled sharply, "Hatima should have gotten our message already," they sent out the letter last week and now they were expecting a message back but Xena knew that Hatima had been absent as queen for awhile. She was not expecting a reply, but Gabrielle said otherwise.

"I'm sure she is very busy and has her hands full since Samuel is gone," Xena sighed. "I hope Eve has adjusted well," she hoped, though she missed her daughter and she hadn't heard from Solan since he left three months ago to travel with Allat after Eve's and Samuel's wedding.

Gabrielle smiled taking Xena's hand, "I'm sure she has. You should have more faith in her!"

Xena smirked, "you know how she is, Gabrielle. She likes to do things her own way and on her own time. The Persians operate differently than we do."

* * *

Eve paid an emissary to deliver the letter to her mother in Greece. She figured her mother would not be in the same place for long since she liked to travel and told the emissary all the possible cities that her mother might be in. She did this in secret since nobody was allowed to leave the palace. This was a week ago and she hoped that he was able to find her mother.

She was in her room and dressed her wounded shoulder carefully. She didn't want others to bring attention to it so she kept her injury well hidden. Kosem was busy with the twins and that gave Eve some time to herself, which she felt like she rarely had.

Autumn was so strange in Persia, it was very cold during the day except the sun made it warm some of the time. Nights were unbearable and she began to see snow on the mountain peaks. She remembered when she told Samuel that one day she would come back in the winter to see the mountains in Persia and here she was. Smiling she got in bed and rolled up her long black sleeves of her knee length gown and stared at the ceiling. She hoped that her mother would respond quickly, especially since she wrote a lengthy letter, almost two pages long explaining what happened and that Jazar and Hatima were being very secretive.

She understood that Persian politics were different but she felt so lost and out of the loop. She looked outside the large arched windows and saw it was beginning to rain. Sighing she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep within minutes.

In the middle of the night Eve's bedroom door opened and she was still asleep, the covers off her body, lying on her back with her hair sprawled across the pillows. The lurker closed the door and locked it. He looked over to her and saw she was fast asleep with a few candles lit around both sides of the bed.

A large canopy covered her bed and she laid hidden behind the sheer curtains. He opened the curtains from the front of the bed and smirked at her. He crawled onto the bed and traced his fingers over her flat stomach and then touched her the inside of her thigh. Eve stirred in her sleep and she frowned, moving her leg exposing her bare thigh.

He pulled away his hand as he saw her moving in her sleep. Once she stopped she raised her arm over her head and he smiled. He kissed her hips gingerly and then lifted her gown, kissing her inner thigh.

Eve frowned and her eyes opened. She looked down and saw a stranger in her bed. Reaching under her pillow she drew a dagger and scooted to the headboard of the bed, curling her legs close to her. She pulled her gown down and pointed the dagger at him. "What are you doing in my room?!" she yelled. She recognized his face and it was one of Samuel's older brothers, the unmarried one with many wives.

Fadi stared at her and smiled mischievously, "you are lonely without my brother..." he came closer to her and she thrust the dagger towards him and his eyes widened.

"You came into my room and tried to rape me," Eve said and he remained quiet still with that smile on his face, "do you have a death wish?" she glared at him. He frowned then grabbed her leg pulling her towards him. She gasped and cut his face with the dagger and he hissed and touched his cheek then saw blood on his palm.

"Greek witch," he muttered and grabbed her arm and she kicked him off the bed.

"Guards!" she jumped off the bed and yelled out. Two men came into the room and she pointed at Fadi, "he came into my bed and tried to rape me!" she said and the two looked at the man and recognized it was Samuel's elder brother, Fadi. Both grabbed onto his arms and hoisted him up off the floor. She smirked folding her arms as they took him out of her bedroom.

* * *

She then decided to take this matter to the queen and stormed down the hallway. She passed by many guards and she saw Hatima's room at the end of the hall on the east wing. The guards blocked her way with their staffs and she groaned, "I need to speak with the queen!" she said they wouldn't let her through. She pushed her way through and the guards huffed.

"Your majesty!" one of the guards said and she burst into Hatima's room.

"Queen Hatun!" she yelled and the queen opened her eyes to see Eve standing at the foot of her bed.

"Eve?" the queen sat up and saw she was indeed angry and irritated. A loud clap of thunder roared in the sky and Hatima got up and wrapped a kaftan around her body. "What is the matter, dear?" she came to her and touched her cheek.

Eve frowned folding her arms, "your stepson, Fadi, came into my room and tried to rape me. I stopped him and the guards took him away."

Hatima gasped and covered her mouth quite surprised to hear that, "I'm so sorry, Eve. I will make sure he is punished severely."

The princess stepped away from her and still glared at the queen. "I want to speak with Samuel."

The queen sighed, "Eve, I don't know where he is right now. He could still be in Scythia or he might be on his way back."

"When he gets back I want to talk to him and I  _will_  be telling my mother about this," she frowned and turned around to leave. The guards came into the room and bowed their heads at the queen.

"My queen, I'm sorry she just came in here..." one apologized.

Hatima waved her hand dismissively, "do not worry about it. Make sure Fadi is held in contempt and I will deal with him in the morning," she rubbed her temples feeling a headache. They nodded and closed her door. She sat on her bed and sighed, not understanding why this would happen and really wished Samuel would return.

Eve left the east wing to go back to her room. She opened the twins' bedroom door and saw they was still sleeping even through the rainstorm. Smiling she closed the door quietly and suddenly did not feel tired anymore especially after that happened. She remembered when her mother was unable to sleep and she always went outside to spar by herself to get her mind off of things.

She went to her room and grabbed a sword she kept hidden under the bed and went to the atrium outside that was protected by a small roof. She saw the rain coming down pretty hard and closed her eyes focusing on one thing only. She swung her sword and chopped an orchid plant in half and all the flower petals fell to the ground slowly. Secretly, she pretended that was Fadi's head and a smile came to her lips. She suddenly felt a lot better and she stayed outside for a few hours to distract herself.


	40. Chapter 40

**AN: and we made it to the big four zero everybody! My mind never ceases to surprise me with these ideas and that I am able to share them with everyone. I never thought I'd make a sequel or even 40 chapters and counting.**

**I thought that I'd add that in the show, they did a 25 year time skip and obviously in this story, there is no time jump and Xena's age is what she would HAVE been in the show if they didn't do the time jump. (in her mid 50's and of course still kicking ass lol).**

**Thank you for reading everyone. So much drama and bullshit. Enjoy and good luck ;)**

Chapter 40 – _Al-Nisaa'_

Xena and Gabrielle remained in Thebes for the next few days to explore some more. Gabrielle heard some gossip of a brothel keeping young girls in a nearby suburban area of Thebes. Xena was never very fond of brothels and she had never been to one in person, but she was trying to become reacquainted with her people once more after being absent and distance for a year.

They traveled to this area midday and both wore cloaks to hide their identities, though Xena were sure that these people would not recognize her anyway if they were so far off in the slums and ghettos of Thebes. The place was not very easy to find and Gabrielle had to ask quite a few people about the brothel. Xena stood aside as she asked so they would not fear her and lie to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle finally asked one of the last resources and she was sure they found the right place. She walked to Xena and put the hood over her head. "Okay I think I got this time," she smiled.

Xena sighed, "better be right this time. You've asked five people already!" she concealed her face with her large black hood and followed Gabrielle down a narrow path in the suburban area. This area was awful and Xena looked around at the living conditions of the place. She cringed as she saw rotten fruits and vegetables and even saw a girl, no older than Eve, talking to an elderly man. He grabbed the girl forcefully with his arm and pulled him close to his chest and the girl did not seem to be enjoying it. in fact, she looked like she was trying to get away.

Xena frowned and went up to the man and grabbed him by the throat and pulled him aside thrusting him onto a wall. "Do not touch her, you filthy bastard," she hissed. The man couldn't see her face and he smirked.

"Are you one of those holy Scythian women?" he chuckled and Xena tightened her grip.

Gabrielle kept walking and then turned to see Xena was not behind her anymore. Instead she saw that Xena had a man in a throat hold. Her eyes widened and she discreetly walked over to the situation.

Xena lifted her head and slightly pulled her hood back to show her face. The man's eyes grew in her fear as he saw the eerie smile on her lips. "E...empress..." he stammered.

"What could you possibly want from that girl?" she raised her eyebrow coming closer to his frightened face.

Gabrielle tapped her shoulder, "Xena," she cleared her throat, "we don't want to be discovered and you're making a scene."

"I don't care, Gabrielle," she hissed and smiled at the man. "So, about the girl?" she peered over at the thin young woman and she was cowardly standing in the corner behind a bush. She pulled her cloak over her head and began biting her fingernails.

He breathed heavily, "she's a whore! She stole some food from my home!" he grimaced.

Xena scoffed, "you're upset because she stole  _food_  from you?" she released the man and threw him down on the ground. She reached into her cloak pocket and gave him a pouch of dinars. "Go buy some food for yourself," she shook her head and then looked to the scared girl.

Gabrielle sighed and followed behind once she saw the man run off in a hurry. "I thought you were going to kill him for a second," she whispered.

"He's not worth my time," the empress approached the girl and smiled at her beneath her large hood. The girl backed away. "Did he hurt you?" she asked nicely. The girl wagged her head and Xena grabbed the girl's arm and saw marks on it. "Are you sure about that?" she raised an eyebrow and the girl snatched her arm away from her in fear. "Don't be scared," she came closer and the girl was frozen. "What is your name?"

The girl spoke softly, "Sofia," she answered and tried to hide her face.

Xena nodded, "Sofia," she smiled, "that's a pretty name for a pretty girl like you," she took her hand and saw how pale and thin she was. "How old are you?" she asked curiously.

Sofia lowered her eyes, "eighteen," she mumbled and Xena's eyes widened. She did not wish to see a young girl like this out in the streets dealing with men like the one she just witnessed.

Gabrielle shook her head, feeling pity for this girl. She knew nothing except for the life she grew up in and there was no way out. Sofia was about to leave and Xena pulled her back. Sofia gasped and stared into her bright blue eyes. "I have a job for you," Xena said and Sofia did not seem totally interested, but more fearful of her. Xena pulled out another pouch of dinars and placed it in the girl's palm. "I want you to go to Delphi. There is a military outpost there that guards a school of children." Sofia raised an eyebrow seeming confused at this offer.

"Why would I go there?" Sofia asked quietly, a bit shy talking to a stranger, especially one that was willing to help her.

Xena smiled, "I want you to be a teacher for the children there. Promise  _me_  you will go," she grazed Sofia's cheek with the backside of her hand. Suddenly a big smile appeared on Sofia's face and she nodded then began to walk off. Xena turned around and then called out, "tell them the Empress of Rome sent you. They will surely let you in," she winked.

Sofia's eyes widened and she had no idea she was talking to the empress herself. She had never seen her before and now she was just given a job by her. Xena smiled and turned around with Gabrielle, walking away down the narrow path again to find this brothel.

Gabrielle turned to see Sofia walking off with a shocked look on her face. She smiled and nudged Xena, "you're amazing, you know?"

Xena smirked, "don't be a flatterer Gabrielle."

The blonde chuckled and linked arms with Xena. "Do you think she will go to the school in Delphi?"

Xena nodded, "I do. She is young and deserves a better life,  _besides_ ," she eyed Gabrielle with a twinkle in her eyes, "how often does one get to speak to the Empress of Rome in person?" she grinned and Gabrielle couldn't disagree with that.

* * *

A few minutes later they arrived at a very discreet place, many open windows with sheer curtains hanging over the window sills. Xena looked up and could hear women moaning and men laughing in the background. She cringed, "oh boy, filth," she walked into the dark building and immediately was bombarded by a large man blocking her way. "Excuse me," she said and he side stepped her. Gabrielle stood behind her and sighed, folding her arms. "You might want to move," Xena smiled tightly.

"What is your business here?" he asked in a gruff voice.

Xena took her hood off and obviously she was not recognized, which this time, she was thankful for. "Wouldn't  _you_  like to know?" she smirked and he folded his arms and put a hand on her shoulder trying to usher her out. "You don't want to do that," she frowned and grabbed his arm and kneed his elbow, breaking his forearm. He cried out in agony and then she kicked him in the groin and he doubled over in pain. She lifted up her cloak and kicked his face with her boot and he fell face first on the floor.

Gabrielle covered her mouth trying to hide her laugh. Xena grabbed her hand and then stepped on top of the large brute. "Come on Gabrielle," she pulled her along down the narrow hallway.

They came to a hallway that was dark and very crowded. There were topless women everywhere and men lounging, enjoying themselves. One of them had three women smothering him and he was obviously drunk. Xena made a face of disgust and tread through the narrow path. One of the women fell in front of her and she looked down at her. The woman got up and covered herself with the sheet and brushed past her.

"Xena, this is really...disturbing," Gabrielle whispered and clung tightly to Xena's arm.

Xena frowned, "indeed it is," she saw a man with two women, very beautiful young women, kissing his bare chest at the end of the hall. She raised an eyebrow and stepped over a drunk man on the floor and approached him.

The man sipped some of his wine and stared at the cloaked woman coming closer to him. He chuckled at her appearance, "you don't seem to fit in this place, ma'am."

"I would hope not," Xena said and Gabrielle stood beside her, taking the hood off her head. The man eyed her and Xena frowned peering over at Gabrielle's stoic face.

"Nice friend you have there," he winked and Xena snarled at him.

"If you look at her again I will gouge your eyes out," Xena said and his eyes widened then he began laughing. He pushed the two women off of him and ran his fingers through his long blonde hair.

He shooed the girls away and now his focus was on Xena. "So what can I do for you?" he smiled enticingly at her.

Xena folded her arms, "for starters you can tell me who is in charge of this vile place." The man laid back onto the pillows and put his arms behind his head.

"You're looking at him," he winked and ate some grapes at his disposal. The women sat together off on the side and Xena pursed her lips and looked over to Gabrielle.

"You hear that Gabrielle? And we didn't even have to try this time," Xena smirked and Gabrielle smiled sneakily. She turned her attention back to the man, "you will stop employing these young women in this barbaric practice. I am shutting you down."

The man began laughing loudly and the women next to him joined in on the laughter. Xena raised an eyebrow at him and he downed his wine. "On who's authority?" he coughed and wiped some spilt wine off his chin.

"Empress of Greece," Xena said and reached for her chakram under her cloak, keeping it concealed. He seemed unfazed by the entire conversation.

"Empress of Greece? HA! Yeah right, don't be ridiculous, she hasn't shown her face in Thebes for years," he poured some wine again and Xena took out her chakram and threw it at the wine bottle. It shattered all over himself and he frowned. "Why...how dare you!"

Xena pulled out her sword and Gabrielle pulled out her Sais, both blocking him from the exit. "Surrender now or I will burn this filth down to the ground," she smiled deviously, "with  _everyone_  in it."

He blinked, "you're bluffing!" he stood up and pulled out a sword trying to combat her. Xena reached for an open wine bottle and drank from it. He eyed her cautiously and then she grabbed a torch off the wall. He backed away and she blew fire towards him and he fell on the bed, barely missing the flames.

All the women in the area began screaming and running away for the exit. Xena held the bottle in her hand the torch in the other, "your choice," her eyes widened wildly with a wide smile. He began breathing heavily and tripped over his own shoes and began running out of the hall. "Gabrielle, go after him," she instructed.

"I've been waiting for this!" Gabrielle smiled and ran down the hallway after the guilty man.

Xena turned around and saw the men begin to arm themselves, unwilling to leave. The women seemed to have left already, well most of them anyway. "Do you all have a death wish or something?" she smiled. They came at her and she sighed, "I guess you do," she drank the wine again and spewed fire at them and some men wailed in agony as their flesh began to burn. She turned around and blew fire in their direction then threw the torch down on one of the beds and it burst up into flames, catching onto the wood beds nearby.

"Will you leave now?!" she yelled and grabbed her sword from under her cloak and pointed the blade at them. They frowned at her then decided to retreat and leave this place. She smiled and watched them all leave, "cowards," she grumbled.

Gabrielle caught up with him and jumped on his back and jabbed the handle of the Sais into his neck and he groaned, falling over. She straddled her legs over him and held the blade of the Sais close to his throat. "It will be easier if you don't run," she whispered in his ear.

He groaned and didn't try and move in fear of her killing him. "Get off of me, wench!" he growled and Gabrielle elbowed him in the spine and he groaned in pain.

Xena walked over and saw Gabrielle and saw her on top of him. "Is this how you subdue the enemy?" she smiled and Gabrielle looked behind her.

"Well, you have your way and I have mine," she chuckled and Xena sighed and picked the man up by his throat and threw him across the hall and he landed on the floor, his nose now bleeding. "Your brothel is burning to the ground as we speak," Gabrielle put her Sais back into her boots.

Xena smiled and the man wiped his nose staring up at both of them. "I suggest you leave and if I find you exploiting young girls like this again, I will have you hanged."

He smirked up at her, "do you work for the empress or something?" he spat some blood at her boot.

"I  _am_  the Empress," Xena said in a low voice. Immediately his smile disappeared and he began to get up and held his cracked rib and hobbled away in fear.

Gabrielle watched the man leave and folded her arms, "you're going to let him go?" she turned her eyes upward at Xena.

Xena sheathed her sword, "you think I enjoy killing people, Gabrielle?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Well...kind of," the blonde sneered with a sneaky smile on her lips. Xena rolled her eyes and saw the flames traveling behind them.

"We should leave," Xena looked around and saw a window at the end of hall and ran to it. Gabrielle skipped behind her trying to keep up with her long strides. Xena huffed and looked down. They were on the second floor of the building and she smugly smiled at Gabrielle. "Looks like the only way is down..."

Gabrielle shook her head, "Xena, no. I don't do this kind of thing anymore!" Xena hooked her arm around her and hoisted her up on the window sill. Gabrielle looked down and her eyes grew in fear of the height they were at and there was definitely nothing soft to land on. "Xena..." she begged. Xena smiled and pushed Gabrielle first then Xena jumped down and rolled on her back then stood up on her feet.

Xena fixed her cloak and saw Gabrielle hurt her ankle and she sighed helping her up. "You never liked heights, did you?" she smirked.

The blonde grimaced up at her, "you sure you're not immortal still?" she winced in pain and Xena smiled, helping her hobble along.

"Let's get you somewhere to rest for awhile," Xena said and looked around the area for an inn or some sort.

* * *

Finally after hobbling around with Gabrielle they were able to find an inn that wasn't in such a bad area. Xena walked into the inn with Gabrielle and set her down in a chair at a lonely table near the entrance. "Stay here, I'm going to get us a room," she left her side and the blonde sighed and was thankful that this inn was fairly empty and there were hardly any people here and none of them were looking at her.

Xena walked up to the bar and tapped her fingernails on the counter. The man lifted his head and smiled at her, "what can I do for you?" he asked wiping his hands off.

"I need a room for my friend and I," Xena said and tried to hide her Greek crest on her gown and pulled her cloak around her body tightly. He frowned and looked through a book of names.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't have any rooms that are big enough for two," he sighed and closed the book and Xena groaned, tapping her fingernails on the counter impatiently.

"That's fine," she said and he eyed her curiously. He sighed and grabbed a key for her then opened the book again.

He grabbed a quill and licked the end of the tip and dipped it in the ink pad, "and your name?" he asked. Xena was silent and he smirked, "what's the matter, don't got a name?" he chuckled.

"Xena," she answered and he nodded, completely oblivious to her title, as most people in these poorer areas did not know her name, only her title as Empress of Greece or Rome, currently. He finished writing her name and closed the book.

"Stranger," he said and she raised an eyebrow at him as she watched him write her name down with its correct spelling.

"Excuse me?"

He grinned, "your name. It means stranger," he went back to cleaning some glasses and turned around. She took the key in her hand and stared at the man as he walked away.  _Stranger? I suppose I am a stranger to most people._

Xena walked over to Gabrielle and waved the key at her, "I got a room," she smiled and Gabrielle sighed heavily. "What? No 'thank you Xena'?" she teased.

"You pushed me out a window," she answered flatly.

"It's not my fault that you landed wrong," Xena helped her up and linked arms with her.

Gabrielle gasped, "so it's  _my_  fault that I sprained my ankle?!" she winced as she was hobbling along with Xena.

The empress smirked, "you always land wrong Gabrielle, even when I taught you how to land...you just don't listen to me," she jested and Gabrielle frowned grumpily then saw the stairs they had to climb and she pouted. "We'll take it one step at a time," she suggested with some mirth in her eyes.

Gabrielle glared up at her, "you're enjoying this, aren't you?" she groaned and hopped up the stairs holding onto Xena for dear life.

* * *

Awhile later they sat in the small room, only one bed big enough for one person. Gabrielle laid down on the bed and Xena sat on the edge bandaging her ankle. She had asked the innkeeper if he had any spare gauze and herbs for pain. Easily, she was able to obtain some. She just finished dressing Gabrielle's ankle and made her drink some herbal tea for her pain and swelling in her ankle.

"Are you sure you don't want to lay down? I can sit down in the chair.." Gabrielle sipped the bitter tea.

Xena refused, "no Gabrielle, you are hurt. You stay here," she smiled and pat her leg.

Suddenly a knock came to the door and both looked towards the door and Xena got up opening the door. She saw a young man and his clothes were not Greek at all. He was dirty and looked incredibly tired. He bowed his head towards her and she raised an eyebrow. Gabrielle leaned forward to see what was going on, but she couldn't see a thing besides Xena's backside.

"Your highness," he said breathlessly, "a message from the Princess of Persia," he pulled out a letter with a seal on it and saw it was quite damaged on the journey over here. She took the letter and he looked up at her.

"Thank you," she closed the door and Gabrielle sat up trying her best not to disturb her injured ankle. Xena ripped the seal open and unfolded the parchment.

"What is it?" Gabrielle asked and Xena quickly read over it and immediately her face expressed anger and worry all in one. Xena hugged the letter close to her chest. "Xena?" she pressed further.

Xena sat down on the bed, "Eve sent this," she sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. "She said that the palace was attacked by foreigners. The palace is on lockdown right now and nobody is allowed in or out of the palace until the military says it is safe. Samuel is still in Scythia and Hatima is in charge," she tossed the letter aside and Gabrielle grabbed it and began reading over it hastily.

"She got in trouble for attacking the intruders?" Gabrielle frowned at that. "And she believes the vizier is plotting against her!" she gasped and shook her head at this news.

Xena frowned, "we're going to Persia."

Gabrielle blinked, a bit shocked to hear that, "do you really think they're going to let us in?"

"I will make them," Xena stood up and began pacing around. "I hate that vizier. He is a leftover advisor from Phraates' empire." She rubbed her chin in deep thought as she paced back and forth.

"When are we leaving?" Gabrielle smiled and Xena looked at her with a smirk.

"Tomorrow, first light."

* * *

Eve barged into the queen's throne chamber and Jazar was standing next to the queen as he was speaking to her in hushed tones. Hatima looked to Eve and stood up from her throne. "You're going to fine him?!" she yelled and the guards came to suppress her and Hatima held up her hand and the guards backed down.

"Eve, I can only hold him in prison until the king returns. For now, I can fine him for his intrusion in your quarters," Hatima explained as eloquently as possible.

The princess balled her fists up and glared at the vizier. "If my mother was in your place, Fadi would be dead already!" she groaned.

Jazar raised an eyebrow, "princess, he did not penetrate, so we cannot do anything more until the king returns."

Eve's eyes widened, "what does it matter if he touched me or had sex with me? He came into my room with the pure intent of raping me," she folded her arms not liking this so called punishment that Samuel's foul brother was given. It was a slap on the wrist, she thought.

Hatima sighed, "I understand your frustration Eve, but that is all I can do for now."

"Is that so?" she challenged.

Jazar frowned, "princess, remember your place..." he said sharply.

"I know my place!" she spat back at him. "I am daughter of the Empress of Greece, Princess of Rome and Athens and I will not be treated like this," she folded her arms and stared at the vizier, "I wrote my mother a letter, I am sure she will not be happy to hear about the attacks on the kingdom."

Jazar gasped, "treason!" he yelled. "You cannot send letters in secret in a lockdown situation!" the guards began to swarm Eve and she stood without budging from her spot.

Hatima rubbed her forehead and sighed heavily and waved her hand at the guards. They backed away looking very confused. "You're dismissed, Eve," she said and the princess turned to leave and stormed out of the throne chamber.

Jazar huffed and saw Hatima leaving the chamber and he followed her, walking beside her. "My queen, she cannot send letters to foreign empires under a crisis. You know this is the king's law."

Hatima frowned and halted in her step, "no that was my husband's law and he's dead." She narrowed her eyes at him and he lowered his gaze. "The more you push the princess away, the more angry her mother will be. I do not want conflict with Xena. Not again." She kept walking and two royal guardsmen followed behind her.

He frowned as he saw her hastily walking down the long hallway. He cursed to himself and left the area.

* * *

Fadi sat in the prison below the palace and twiddled with the chains wrapped around his wrists. He then saw Jazar standing at the doors and the guard opened the door. Fadi stood up and frowned at him. "Why am I still in here?" he hissed.

The vizier snapped his fingers and the guard brought a stool for him to sit on. "The princess is more cunning than I thought. I underestimated her," he sighed and Fadi kicked the wall in frustration. "She has notified her mother about the attacks," he frowned.

Fadi slowly turned around, "that Thracian bitch mother of hers?" he growled. "Now I will surely die!" he punched the wall and the vizier sighed heavily.

"your majesty, you think too negatively," he smiled and the Persian prince eyed him curiously. "You didn't have relations with the princess and without the king here, the empress cannot touch you."

"When my little brother returns from Scythia he will believe his wife over me!" Fadi yelled and the vizier clicked his tongue against his cheek.

"That's what you might think, your highness, but if I had a private audience with the king before the princess could see him...perhaps I could tell him the  _truth_  of what really happened in the bedroom?" he smiled deviously and Fadi seemed interested and folded his arms waiting for his continuation. "Say, the princess invited you in and seduced you. She is quite beautiful, yes?"

Fadi nodded, "the princess is outspoken and will immediately disagree with that lie, vizier. It won't work."

Jazar stood up and asked the guard to open the cell door, "you need to have more faith in me, your highness. May God watch over you and protect you from the evil eye," he said and bowed his head before leaving the prison. The prince sat back down on the cold ground and bit his fingernail thinking this plan could easily be foiled especially if Xena was soon to be involved. He was already imagining seeing the empress's face and thought of his imminent death.

* * *

Eve was in the twins' room with Kosem, her chambermaid and Layla was playing with a few wooden building blocks as Luca was trying to get into things he shouldn't be in. Kosem noticed Eve's silence and grabbed Luca to sit in her lap.

"Princess, if I may be so bold..." she began and Eve lifted her big blue eyes. "You seem distressed about something."

Eve sighed, "I just want Samuel to come back."

Kosem smiled, "he will, your highness." Luca began playing with Kosem's long dark hair and veil loosely draped over her head.

"I think the vizier has it in for me," Eve said and Kosem's smile disappeared instantly. "He denounces everything I say and the queen knows it too."

Kosem nodded and kept quiet and allowed Luca to play with her wavy hair. "Your highness, I have worked in this palace for many years," she said quietly, "I watched the king when he was a child while his father and mother were away. The vizier has been working here for over three decades." She sighed and Eve listened intently and Layla crawled over to her and she smiled down at her and picked her up to sit her down in her lap comfortably. "He is an unfair man and you should...be careful around him," she said sincerely.

Eve looked down at her daughter as she played with her black gown, "thank you for your kind words, Kosem." She smiled and the maid bowed her head curtly showing her gratitude. "I can take care of myself and when Samuel comes back, I am going to tell him to get rid of Jazar."

Kosem's eyes widened, "princess do not speak such words like this," she whispered. "God will watch over you and your children," she blessed her and Eve raised an eyebrow.

"Samuel listens to me and trust my judgment. I believe he doesn't like the vizier either. I have complete confidence," she smiled and Layla grinned up at her. "Jazar thinks he can get rid of me, well, he can try," she kissed Layla's hand and grinned at her widely. Kosem had a worrisome face and remained quiet for the rest of the time she was with Eve and the children.

* * *

Later Eve relocated to her room and brought her children with her. She wanted to write down her thoughts, something that Gabrielle taught her to do when she was upset or she couldn't say her thoughts out loud. Kosem was with the children on the floor and a knock came to the door.

Eve turned her head and the door opened and she saw Hatima standing there looking very solemn. Kosem stood up and bowed her head. Hatima smiled at her and raised her hand, "you may leave now," she instructed and Kosem left the room closing the door behind her.

The queen stared at Eve and she nervously held onto some beads she had in her hands. "Eve, I want to apologize for what happened to you," she said and lowered her eyes.

The princess raised her eyebrow and stood up, "apologize for what exactly?" she folded her arms.

Hatima sighed, "the prince should not have access to your bedroom. Guards are always posted outside your room. I don't know how this could have happened, but please, this is not how we operate here. I hope you understand."

Eve looked down at her children as they were playing casually with each other and flipping through a book they seemed to enjoy, though they stole it from Eve's collection off a bookshelf. "Your vizier dislikes me, no guards are posted outside my room and Fadi easily slips into my room, imagine that?" she smirked.

Hatima lowered her eyes, "Eve please, forgive me. I can only do so much while my son is away."

Eve sighed, "I know. Persia is different than Greece I've come to find out," she bent down next to her children and smiled at them both. Though, they seemed to be too interested in the book they couldn't read and gazed at all the pictures inside.

Hatima smiled, "without them, our empires would not be allied," she said and Eve looked to her with sincere eyes. "I hope that you will think of Persia as your second home and I can do less for you as a queen but as a mother in law...I will help you with anything," she grinned.

"That's comforting," Eve stood up and folded her arms.

"Well," Hatima exhaled deeply, "I will send Kosem back in to take the twins back to their room. It is getting late."

Eve frowned, "actually, I want them to stay with me in my room for tonight."

The queen seemed surprised at that but she couldn't blame her. She curtly nodded and smiled, "of course." She turned to leave, "goodnight princess and may God bless with you with plentiful dreams." She left the room and closed the door behind her. Eve felt like she was finally able to breathe normally again. She began pacing around the room in circles in deep thought.

* * *

Samuel rode with a few of his soldiers on the outskirts of Persia. He had just left Scythia and the meeting with the king was unsuccessful. He had hoped to negotiate with the king to allow his people to practice their own religion and live in peace, but the Scythian king did not agree at all. He was a young arrogant king, about the same age as Samuel and inherited all of his father's wealth, but obviously not his brains.

They decided to make camp because it was very late and Samuel was tired of riding for days trying to get back to Susa. It would take another few days get back and he never felt so anxious to return to Persia in his life. Currently, he sat in his tent sharing some wine with one of his best generals, his friend. A soldier came into the tent and interrupted their conversation and meal.

"Your majesty," he bowed his head, "a letter from Queen Hatun," he ran up to him and delivered the message. Samuel wiped his hands with a cloth and took the letter then thanked the soldier.

He ripped open the letter and read it over carefully. His general, Mehmed, frowned at his king. "What is it, my king?"

Samuel stood up and walked over to the candle and burned the letter. "Scythians are attacking Susa right now and Eve was hurt in the process, trying to defend the palace."

Mehmed sighed, "your highness, your wife is very brave," he smiled and drank some wine.

"I cannot allow these Scythian dogs to invade my land and attack my kingdom. The king must have sent people to attack my home after I left, knowing that I'd have no way to fight back," he groaned and sat back down no longer feeling hungry, he pushed his bowl to the side.

"so, what will do next, your majesty?" Mehmed asked, rather intrigued and incredibly eager to fight.

Samuel sighed and leaned his head against some pillows behind him, "apparently the Scythians have migrated to Greece and Xena informed my mother about some attacks happening there."

Mehmed smiled mischievously, "ah the Greek Empress! She has always been a favorite of mine," he downed his wine and poured another glass for himself. "We should not engage in war, my king."

"No definitely not. I want to try and solve this matter as peaceful as possible before it becomes a bigger problem," he sighed and Mehmed handed him a glass of wine. "You're a good friend," he smiled and sipped the wine. "Greek wine is better," he snickered, thinking of Eve's distaste of Persian wines, even when she was a little girl so long ago.

The general chuckled, "you have been spending too much time with your wife, afendim," he joked and Samuel smiled sighing heavily. "And how's the little prince and princess?" he smiled.

Samuel grinned thinking of those two, he missed them a lot and was sure that Eve was fine handling the children by herself. She had done well so far. "God willing, they are safe and well," he sipped some wine.

"And may God grant you with more children in the future!" Mehmed lifted his glass and Samuel choked on his wine and the general laughed aloud at the shocked yet scared look on his face.

"That's a good joke," Samuel laughed nervously and Mehmed winked at him and sipped the wine.

**AN: Al-Nisaa': the women**


	41. Chapter 41

**AN: Gabrielle has a story to tell ;)**

Chapter 41

Eve sat in her bedroom and Kosem was fixing her hair as she sat in front of her mirror. Eve was not entirely used to people fixing her hair for her or picking out her clothing that she wore. In Greece, she had everyone around her and certainly they were at her disposal but her mother said not to rely on the servants for everything. Racha was a nice handmaid to her and Xena, but here in Persia, Kosem did everything for Eve, even watched her children whenever Eve wanted, which she thought odd. Normally, Eve was with Kosem anyway when she had the children with her.

Kosem was combing Eve's waist length curly hair and Eve grabbed her hand, "you don't need to attend to me like this," she said seriously.

The maid smiled, "the king asked me to look after you so that is what I am doing, princess," she continued combing her long locks and Eve sighed, resting her chin on her palm staring at her reflection. Layla and Luca were laying on Eve's bed taking a nap, she had decided to keep them in her room for the last week not trusting anyone in this palace anymore especially if Jazar was around. She really despised him and wished that he was not vizier anymore. He was Phraates' advisor and he was still alive. He should be wiped out, actually the entire Persian court should be wiped out since they are old men leftover from Phraates' reign. Eve hoped that her mother would send her a letter back or better yet, come to Persia to aid in this situation. It was times like this when she really missed her home in Athens or even in Rome, for a short time.

Suddenly there were loud horns sounded throughout the palace and Eve's eyes lit up. "He is back," she smiled and left the room immediately, running down the hallway to the grand throne chamber.

* * *

The orator entered the room and cleared his throat to announce Samuel's arrival. "Shahanshah of Persia, son of Hatun II and Phraates the IV!" he said loudly and Samuel came into the throne chamber and saw his mother and his vizier standing waiting for him. He smiled at his mother and hugged her tightly then kissed her forehead.

"Mother, thank you for being my regent while I was away," he grinned at her and she bowed her head at him.

"Of course," she smiled then saw Eve come into the room and all eyes went to her. Samuel turned and saw her waiting for him with a big smile on her face. Jazar frowned as soon as he saw the princess enter the room.

Eve came up to him and hugged him wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you," she whispered.

Samuel smiled and pulled away from her and kissed her hands, "me too. Sorry I was gone for so long, I didn't mean for it to be that long. I was supposed to be back in two weeks and it ended up being six," he sighed.

"Samuel, I need to talk to you," she said with a firm voice and he frowned looking concerned.

Jazar came over to interrupt their conversation and placed a hand on Samuel's shoulder, "my king, you are needed in the court. We have important matters to discuss," he smiled deviously at Eve and she frowned at him.

The king sighed, "right, of course," he turned back to Eve, "we can talk later, alright?"

She shook her head, "but Samuel –" he kissed her forehead and he left with the vizier and mother following behind him. Eve folded her arms and her eyes burned into the back of the vizier's head. She wish she could take his turban and tie it around his neck to choke him to death.

* * *

In the court room many of the councilmen stood talking among themselves waiting for the king to come in to greet them all. The orator came in ahead of the king and his vizier, "Shahanshah of Persia!" he said loudly and Samuel came in and all the councilmen bowed from their waists and he went to sit on a large pillow crossing his legs in front of them. He was the head of the room with the pillow sitting on a dais and all the men sat down after him.

The orator saw the queen enter and his eyes widened, "Malika Hatima Hatun of Persia!" he said loudly and the men bowed their heads at her, a bit surprised to see her show her face in the room. Jazar snarled, thinking this was not going to be good that the queen decided to join the court.

Hatima smiled and sat next to her son in a chair and finally the doors were closed so nobody would be able to hear their court session.

Samuel sighed, "vizier, tell me of these Scythian attacks," he said immediately.

Jazar snapped his fingers, "afendim Ibn Farabi has the information on the intruders, my king." Councilmen Ibn Farabi came forward with a scroll in his hand and bowed his head towards the king and unrolled the scroll.

He recited eloquently, "it is our assumption that the King of Scythia sent these attackers not long after his majesty left. Perhaps they were here even before the king's departure, but we are unsure. They are not the Christian Scythians that reside in the kingdom for his majesty gave them asylum before his journey," he finished and handed the scroll to Jazar so he could read it over it himself.

Samuel rubbed his chin, "King Nimrood of Scythia expressed a lot of hatred towards Persia. He claims that my kingdom is blasphemous and should follow the religion of the Babylonians. The Babylonians were slain by the Persians hundreds of years ago and have adopted Zoroastrianism instead. The king believes that my kingdom is corrupt," he said as he relayed what the Scythian king told him on his journey there.

Jazar frowned, "it is his kingdom that is corrupt, your highness. Perhaps he is upset that he does not get enough gold from our treasury like he used to..."

Samuel looked up to him and frowned, "what do you mean? We give gold to the Scythians? Since when have I authorized this?" he felt completely oblivious now about his own kingdom.

The vizier snapped his fingers and a different councilmen came forward. "Ibn Malak, the treasurer of Persia, your highness," he announced the man. Ibn Malak came forward and bowed towards the king.

"Your highness," he began softly, a bit fearful of his imminent reaction to be, "King Phraates has sent money to the Scythians for many years to ally both of their armies against the Greek Empire." He lowered his gaze and Samuel's eyes widened, not aware of this old law that was still in place even though his father had passed years ago.

"Well why are we still sending money to him?!" Samuel yelled and Ibn Malak's body tensed and said nothing. "Cut all commerce trade with the Scythian king. He gets nothing from Persia." He waved his hand and dismissed the treasurer.

The vizier leaned down towards the king, "I don't think that is a wise decision, my king," he whispered.

Samuel stood up and glared at the vizier, "I am king of Persia and what I say goes! My father is dead and his laws still apply in this kingdom!" he groaned and looked around at the twenty-something councilmen sitting around in a semi circle. "I want all of my father's laws found and burned. We will start new laws, taxes and trade commerce with our Assyrian and Greek brothers." He said and the vizier nodded, not quite happy with the king's decision. Samuel turned to his mother, "what do you think, mother? Is it a good idea?" he looked for reassurance.

Hatima smiled, "yes it is," nodding her head slowly and allowed him to continue.

Samuel smiled and looked to all his councilmen, "my mother believes it is a good idea so we shall begin the purge of the old kingdom's laws and start over!" he claimed and all the councilmen nodded, then began whispering to each other quietly.

The vizier folded his arms and came closer to the king, "there is one more thing your highness. It's about your brother and your wife," he whispered.

Samuel frowned and thought that his court should not hear such personal matters. He turned to face them all, "you're all dismissed," he said and the men stood up and began filing out of the room one by one. Soon enough, the door was closed and now it was just the vizier, Samuel and Hatima alone in the room.

"So what's the issue with my brother and Eve?" Samuel asked, a bit curious and also nervous to hear something about his wife, let alone his elder brother.

Jazar looked to Hatima and she remained stoic. He smiled at the king, "your highness, we have knowledge that your brother went into your wife's room unattended," he began and saw the king's green eyes widen in shock. "He was simply checking on her since you were away on your journey," he began and Hatima stood up from her chair frowning at him. "He claims that your wife...seduced him into her bed."

Samuel frowned and then Hatima stepped beside her son, "that is not true!" she said and Jazar frowned at the queen vehemently. The young king looked to his mother and now was confused. "Eve told me that the prince came into her room and tried to rape her." She said and that only infuriated Samuel more.

Jazar smirked, "the princess could be lying your highness. You know she has harsh feelings for me," he folded his arms.

Samuel felt his blood boiling and he rubbed his chin pensively, "where is my brother now?" he asked, trying to calm his nerves.

"He is the prison below the palace, my king," Jazar bowed his head lowly.

"Take me to him," Samuel left the room and Hatima glared at the vizier and he smiled at her then followed the king.

* * *

Down below in the prison, Fadi sat in his cell picking at his fingernails and heard a hoard of footsteps approaching. He frowned and looked to see his little brother, his mother and the vizier standing at the door. Fadi's eyes widened and he stood up then the guard opened the door and Samuel stepped inside. "Brother..." he smiled at him.

Samuel punched his brother in the jaw and he stumbled backward against the wall. "You tried to have sex with my wife?!" he yelled and Fadi rubbed his jaw and frowned at him.

"I didn't have sex with her," Fadi mumbled and adjusted his jaw still feeling the stinging pain throughout his teeth.

"That's not what my mother said," Samuel said and Fadi smiled staring at the queen.

"Hatima?" he looked back to his brother, "she was the first whore of our father, why would her word have any meaning at all?"

Samuel's eyes widened and he grabbed his brother by the throat and thrashed him against the wall. Fadi choked and the young king frowned, tightening his grip, "she is my mother and Queen of Persia! You will not speak ill of her, understand?" he hissed and Fadi said nothing, "I said, do you  _understand_?!" his grip tightened and Fadi nodded his head then Samuel let go of his throat.

He fixed his sleeves and adjusted his collar casually and Fadi coughed trying to regain his breath again. "Your wife is a poison to our family, brother," he croaked.

Samuel turned around and narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You tried to rape my wife and you call her poisonous?" he smiled softly, "since you are my brother, I cannot kill you..." he sighed finding that a bit disappointing. "But I can exile you from Persia and strip you of your title," he said and Fadi's eyes widened, thinking that was an even worse punishment than death.

"Brother you will take away my title from Persia?" he begged. "I'd rather die!" he said and grabbed his brother's pant-leg and began praying softly to himself. Samuel kicked his brother off and brushed off the filth off his pants.

A messenger came running down to the prison and saw the king speaking with his brother. "Your majesty!" he said and Samuel turned his head at the young messenger boy. "The Empress of Greece is here and wishes to see you," he said and Samuel smiled then turned towards Fadi.

"Perhaps I will exile you to Greece and you can be the empress's loyal servant?" Samuel smiled and walked off. Fadi thought that was definitely worse than death. Exile to Greece? In the hands of the empress? He'd rather be beheaded publically than stay with her.

The cell door closed and Fadi ran to the door, pressing his face against the bars as he watched his brother walk away with his mother. "Brother! Don't do this to me!" he yelled and then heard the door close and he hit the door with his fist then grumbled to himself.

* * *

Samuel, Hatima and Jazar returned to the throne chamber and the orator was on standby. Samuel sat down in his chair and sighed heavily then he waited. The large doors opened and he saw Xena, looking very angry, he was not in the mood for this at the moment.

The orator loudly announced, "Empress of Greece! Queen of Athens, Conqueror of Rome!"

Xena walked in with Gabrielle and she stopped and turned her head towards the loud orator. "Do you do that every time someone walks in?" she raised an eyebrow and he shut his mouth, staring at her with wide eyes. She shook her head and kept walking down the long entrance and saw Samuel sitting in his throne with Hatima standing on his left and the vizier on his right.

Samuel smiled at her, "Xena, I wasn't expecting you. I just returned myself."

Xena bowed her head curtly at the king showing her respect in his home, "where is my daughter?" she asked immediately.

He stood up and felt nervous around her, as usual. "I do not know. I had to meet with my court as soon as I returned."

Xena pursed her lips and she was not amused. "Your mother told me there was an attack on the palace and Eve got hurt in the process. She also got reprimanded for it," she eyed the vizier and Jazar averted his gaze from the empress.

Samuel frowned and looked to his vizier, "I was not informed about this, why?" he asked and his vizier remained quiet. "Tell me!"

"The princess was out of line, your highness," the vizier spoke up finally and Samuel raised one of his thick brows at him.

"Out of line? You believe my wife unworthy of Persia?" he questioned, folding his arms, glaring at his vizier.

Jazar shook his head and lowered his gaze, "no my king, I serve the princess as I would serve you," he lifted his head and Samuel was still glaring at him.

Eve came rushing back into the throne room and saw her mother with Gabrielle standing in front of Samuel. She smiled, "mother!" she ran up to her and embraced her tightly. Xena smiled and hugged her back, refusing to let go of her. It had only been a few months since she had seen her but to her, it felt like forever. Eve pulled away, "Gabrielle," she smiled and hugged her warmly as well.

Gabrielle touched Eve's hair, "your hair is very long," her fingers ran through her wavy brunette locks. Eve smiled then looked down at Gabrielle's leg and ankle were bandaged and she was using a staff to get around.

"What happened to you?" she became concerned.

"She fell out a window," Xena smirked. Gabrielle gasped and desperately wanted to hit her.

"Did you really?" Eve asked Gabrielle and raised an eyebrow, not trusting her own mother's words.

Gabrielle groaned, " _no_ , your mother pushed me out a window." Eve looked to her mother and folded her arms, a bit shocked to hear that.

Xena shrugged her shoulder, "it was either that or die, I don't know why you're complaining so much Gabrielle," she winked.

Eve rolled her eyes at her mother and Gabrielle going back and forth together as they seemed to forget there were other people around them. She grabbed her mother's hands tightly, "mother I'm so glad you came here. I need to talk to you," she said firmly and Xena focused in, becoming more serious now seeing the worrisome expression on her daughter's face.

Samuel felt a bit awkward with all these women surrounding him, "Eve, you said you wanted to talk to me?" he interrupted.

Eve turned to him, "later, Samuel. I want to speak my mother and Gabrielle first, if you don't mind?" she smiled softly at him and he grinned, nodding his head and bowed to her. He reached for her hand and kissed it gingerly.

"Of course, take as much time as you need," he said and Eve escorted her mother to her room with Gabrielle following behind them as fast as she could.

Once the women left Samuel turned to his vizier and his mother, both with unreadable expressions on their faces. "I want to know everything that happened while I was away. Now!" he said and left the room to go to his private quarters. The vizier sighed and followed him with the queen by his side.

* * *

The women came to Eve's bedroom and she opened the door. Xena stepped inside and looked around at the large room. It was quite beautiful and decorated in burgundy and gold accents. There was a large desk for her to write on and plenty of parchment. Over on the far side of the room there was a big bookcase filled with many books from Greece, Persia and Assyria. It seems that Eve was well educated here and kept up her studies that Gabrielle taught her to do well. She smiled and saw a sitting area with pillows and floor couches lined against the walls and of course the large bed with the sheer canopy.

Gabrielle gasped loudly as soon as she saw Luca and Layla playing on the floor with Kosem. "They're so adorable!" she knelt down forgetting about her aching ankle and both children looked up to her with big smiles and bright blue eyes. "You have your mother's eyes too!" she couldn't stop staring at them and Luca came crawling over to her, forgetting about his toys on the ground.

Xena peered down and saw the babies on the floor. A big smile came to her face and Layla looked up to her and reached up to her. Xena smiled and picked her up in her arms.

Eve grinned, "she remembers you."

The empress smiled at Layla and the child began playing with her hair, "of course she does, I was there for her birth," she tapped Layla's nose and the infant giggled happily.

Eve hated to interrupt this moment but she really needed to tell her mother what was going on. "Mother, I need to tell you something important," she said and Xena sighed setting Layla down on the ground to play with Gabrielle and Luca. Eve went to sit on her bed and Xena sat beside her, barely able to keep her eyes off the twins. "Mother?"

Xena was brought back to her daughter and pat her hand gently, "I'm sorry, they're very distracting. What did you need to tell me?"

Eve readied herself and breathed in slowly not sure how to start this off. Xena waited patiently and frowned at her daughter as she seemed to be incredibly nervous. "Eve, what is the matter with you?" she touched her face and then her forehead.

Her daughter slapped her hand away and huffed quietly. "Nothing, I'm just afraid of your reaction," Eve's eyes widened and Xena seemed more interested now. Gabrielle continued playing with the twins on the floor, though still listening to them talk to each other. "Promise me, after I tell you, don't hurt Samuel because he had nothing to do with this, alright?"

Xena straightened herself and thought quietly to herself and that made Eve even more nervous. "I can't make any promises," she smiled and Eve sighed. "Alright, I promise," she pat her daughter's knee and Eve finally relaxed a little bit.

She began slowly, "one night, last week, Fadi, one of Samuel's elder brothers came into my room and tried to rape me. I kicked him out and Hatima sent him to prison and he's still there," she said all in one blow figuring that saying it in parts was going to make it even more nerve-racking than necessary. She looked at her mother's expression and saw she was being very quiet and completely unreadable at the moment.

Gabrielle grabbed her staff and hoisted herself up off the floor and frowned deeply coming towards Eve. "He touched you?" she asked in an eerily calm voice. Eve nodded, but then explained he didn't do anything more than that. "I want to see him."

Eve stood up and placed her hand on Gabrielle's shoulder, "you will have to ask Samuel if you can see him, but I don't know if he will allow it..."

"Oh he will," Gabrielle shrugged Eve's hand off and Xena stared her with wary eyes. "Where is Samuel?"

"He's in court right now, remember?" Eve said now a bit worried that Gabrielle might do something though she fully expected her mother to react like this, she was very quiet. Gabrielle began hobbling towards the door and left the room. Eve's jaw dropped and she swiftly turned to Xena, "mother! Are you going to stop her?"

Xena shook her head, "nope." She got up and left the room to follow Gabrielle. Eve held her head in between her hands and she looked to Kosem and the maid lowered her gaze, focusing on watching the children, pretending as if she heard nothing. The princess left the room to go with her mother.

Gabrielle hobbled down the hallway into the throne chamber and saw Hatima speaking with a few of her servants. "Hatima!" she called out and the queen turned around. The servants were quite surprised that this foreigner was calling the queen by her name and not her title. "Where is your son?"

Hatima frowned looking at Gabrielle, "he's in a meeting with the vizier. Why?" she then saw Eve and Xena approaching and figured that Eve had told her mother what happened concerning Samuel's brother.

"Well I'd like to see him, please," Gabrielle asked nicely and Hatima nodded.

"Follow me," the queen began walking down a long hallway and Gabrielle trailed behind her. Xena and Eve walked behind Gabrielle and Hatima.

"What is she going to do?" Eve whispered, asking her mother.

Xena sighed heavily, "I don't know Eve, but she's very upset so there's no telling what she will do," she whispered back.

Hatima opened the doors to Samuel's office and stepped inside. The vizier bowed his head and the guard announced, "Queen Hatima Hatun II," he said and bowed his head towards her. Samuel put down some documents and stood up from his chair.

"Samuel, Gabrielle wishes to speak with you," she said and Gabrielle appeared beside her.

"Gabrielle?" he raised a curious eyebrow. He went to the door and smiled nervously at her, "what can I do for you, Gabrielle?"

She did not want to play games and immediately asked, "your brother. Eve said he is in the prison, I'd like to see him."

Samuel's eyes widened, "well, I haven't yet decided his punishment Gabrielle so nobody is allowed to see him except me."

Gabrielle smiled tightly, "then would you kindly escort me?" she asked and he saw that she was not going to take no for an answer. He nodded and looked to his vizier and told him that he'd be back later. He left the room and then saw Eve and Xena standing outside the office. He looked at Xena and saw her eyes were very bright, her pupils dilated and she did not look very happy at all. He averted his eyes and continued down the hall asking them all to follow him to the cell below the palace.

* * *

Fadi fell asleep with his body leaning on the cold wall and suddenly he was awoken by someone punching him in the face. He coughed and wiped his bloody nose. He looked up and saw a blonde staring down at him and she did not look very happy to see him. Looking behind her he saw the empress and her daughter along with his brother standing at the door.

"Empress..." Fadi said and Xena folded her arms observing him and Gabrielle standing over him.

"You tried to rape the empress's daughter?" Gabrielle questioned and he remained quiet. "Answer me!" she held her staff high in the air and he winced in fear.

"No! I didn't do anything to her! I swear to God!" he pleaded in fear and she jabbed him with her staff in his rib and he cried out in pain.

Gabrielle frowned, "but you touched her didn't you?" she asked and he was still moaning in pain, "didn't you?!" she reiterated.

"Y-yes..." he stuttered and hid his face from her, afraid of being hit again.

"And you liked it," she said lifting her chin and when he didn't answer she hit him with her staff again and he winced in pain.

Eve covered her mouth and she grabbed her mother's arm. "I've never seen her act like this..."

Xena smirked, "she cares about you Eve. Maybe I should let her be my interrogator," she jested and Eve looked to her mother with wide frightened eyes.

"Admit it!" Gabrielle yelled and the prince's face was bleeding and his cheek was now swollen.

"Yes, I liked it," he mumbled.

"I can't hear you," Gabrielle leaned in closer.

"I. liked. It." he frowned up at her feeling incredibly humiliated right now especially with his brother watching.

Gabrielle kneeled down and gave him a napkin to wipe his bloody nose. He took it cautiously and began wiping the blood off his lips and nose. "You know what we do with people like you in Greece?" she whispered with a smile. He shook his head and she leaned in closer to his face, "we kill them." His opened eye widened in fear. "Too bad you're not in Greece and you are protected by Persian law," she stood up and began hobbling out of the cell.

The guard closed and locked the door and she frowned at Samuel. She pointed her finger at his chest, "and  _you_! You are supposed to protect Eve and you failed. She is your wife and mother of your children."

Samuel backed away from her and he never feared Gabrielle before, only Xena, but now, he was truly scared of her. "I love Eve and would give my life for her, you know that Gabrielle," he said quietly trying to defend himself.

"Is this how you run things in your kingdom?" she questioned and he shook his head. "People just come and go into princess's rooms and rape them?" she raised an eyebrow and he lowered his gaze.

"Forgive me, Gabrielle. I was not here and if I was, this would not have happened."

Gabrielle smiled, "it seems all the juicy stuff happens when you're gone, Samuel."

Eve stepped forward, "Gabrielle –" Xena held her back and she frowned.

"This will not happen again, understand?" she pointed her staff at the king and Samuel nodded vigorously.

"Of course not, Gabrielle. Eve is under my watchful eye, you have my word," he bowed his head at her showing his sincerity. Gabrielle said nothing in return and began hobbling away back to the stairs to get out of this filthy place. She had seen enough filth in Thebes and came to find more in Persia. Xena followed Gabrielle and Eve was alone with Samuel.

"I'm so sorry Eve, can you forgive me?" he said and held her hands in his.

Eve smiled weakly, "you did nothing wrong, Samuel. It was your brother who wronged me, not you."

"I thought Gabrielle was going to kill me for a moment there," he breathed a sigh of relief, thanking his lucky stars and God above. Eve smiled and linked arms with him as they left the prison.

* * *

Eve decided to take Gabrielle to a room close by to hers so she could relax for awhile. Xena stayed behind and saw Samuel was about go back into his office. "Samuel," she said and he halted in his step, almost refusing to look at her. "My daughter is very precious to me and I hope you understand that I will go anything to protect her."

He nodded, "yes Xena, I know," he said quietly.

"If I get another letter like that, I will come here and take her away to live with me in Greece." She said, "and that's a promise," she turned and walked down the marble hall. He sighed and banged his forehead against the wall in frustration.

Eve settled Gabrielle in the room and soon Gabrielle fell asleep, exhausted from the journey and the little conversation she had with Fadi. She returned to her room and closed the door and saw her children were gone. She was beginning to panic.

"I told Kosem to put the twins in their bedroom for the evening," Xena said as she sat on Eve's bed. Eve saw her and wasn't expecting her mother to be in her room and sitting in the dark like that either. She could be very sneaky at times. "Come sit with me," she pat the empty spot next to her.

Eve came to sit next to her mother and Xena wrapped an arm around her. "I told Samuel that if something like this happens again, I'm taking you back to Greece with me."

Eve pulled away from her mother and furrowed her eyebrows, "what?" she said softly. "You can't do that," she wagged her head in disbelief.

"Yes I can. If I think it is unsafe for you I will take you home with me." Xena said and Eve stood up, irate.

"You can't just force me to leave!" she yelled at her mother.

Xena stood up facing her daughter, "I am Empress and this marriage is an alliance with the Persian Empire. What I say is the law and you will comply with it, whether you like it or not," she folded her arms and Eve gasped.

"Mother! I can handle things on my own!"

"Is that why you wrote me a letter, then? You don't need me?" Xena said and Eve was silent. The empress nodded, "right. You do need me Eve and I said I will always be here for you. I know that Samuel cares for you a lot and he loves you, but his court is corrupt. They have too much power and I don't want you to be caught up in it."

Eve sighed and sat back down on the bed, "I understand that you are looking out for me, like always. I think the vizier sent Fadi to come to my room. He really hates me." Xena sat beside her and Eve leaned into her mother resting her head on her shoulder. "Why does he hate me?"

Xena ran her fingers through Eve's long hair, "he hates you because you are my daughter. He was Phraates' loyal advisor and has an unhealthy obsession with obliterating the Greek nation, me being at the top of his list," she smiled softly. "You are second on the list. You should be honored," she teased.

"Oh yeah, I'm  _so_  honored," Eve answered unequivocally. She couldn't stop thinking about Gabrielle's abrasive behavior in the prison earlier. "Mother, why did Gabrielle act like that? I thought that you would behave like that."

Xena sighed, "Gabrielle has a special dark place in her heart for rapists, Eve."

Eve lifted her head and looked into her mother's eyes, "did something happen to her for her to react the way she did?" she almost didn't want to know the answer and saw her mother's silence was enough. "What happened?"

Xena smiled, "Gabrielle is better at telling stories than I am. I'm sure if you ask her, she will tell you," she kissed her daughter's forehead, "but for now, we should all get some sleep, especially you." She stood up and Eve sighed, figuring her mother was right.

She was almost out the door until Eve called out, "mother," and Xena turned to face her as she opened the door. "Thank you for coming here," she smiled.

Xena grinned at her, "of course."

"You will stay awhile longer, won't you?" Eve hoped, almost feeling like a child asking her mother to stay by her side.

"I will stay as long as I can. I do have other matters to deal with in Greece." She said and saw the disappointment in her daughter's eyes.

"Will you stay for the twins' birthday? It's only a couple of months away," Eve smiled and Xena softly smiled at her.

"We will see, goodnight Eve," she closed the door and Eve sighed laying down on her bed staring at the gold ceiling above her.

* * *

Xena knew that Gabrielle was sleeping and yet she was not tired enough to sit in bed waiting for sleep to invite her. She decided to walk the palace as she hadn't been here in years and always hated the place, but it had changed since she had been here. She also hadn't seen the entirety of the palace either. She walked down the hallway and there was nobody in sight, she figured everyone was turning in for the evening, which she thought was odd for Persians. They liked to stay up late, but maybe behind closed doors, they were wide awake no doubt.

She came to an atrium just outside the main grand entrance and could see the snowy mountains from here. She did say that Greece was very beautiful and though she could see why people loved Persia. It had its own beauty. The dry desert in some areas, grassy lands in others and beaches on the coast of Susa was beautiful too, but the mountains in this area were something she did not normally see in Greece unless she traveled further north.

The atrium lead to a garden and a large fountain with a statue in the middle. She looked at the statue and thought it was so odd looking, though probably no odder than the centaurs and satyrs in Greece. This statue was a bull's body with big wings like a bird and a human-like face and a long beard. She had never seen those creatures before though to be fair, she had never seen centaurs or satyrs either in person. Gabrielle told her stories about them, but she never believed them since she never met one before. Now that she stared at the statue longer, she realized that there were many statues around the palace like this one. Mythological creatures, how strange, she said to herself and kept walking in the garden beyond the fountain.

As she tread through the garden she heard hushed voices from behind a wall. She stopped and hid herself, hiding her shadow from the moonlight. She sneaked along the wall closer to the voices and listened intently.

"I want you to deliver this message to King Nimrood of Scythia immediately," the voice sounded urgent and Xena frowned, leaning in closer.

The messenger nodded his head, "consider it done, sir. What will you say to the king once he finds out that his treasury has been transferred to the Scythians?"

He groaned, "the king is young and naive. He is too young to rule and not to mention he has brought in that Greek witch as his wife. He is perverting the Persian empire that his father and forefathers built from the ground up." He sighed, "just send the letter and report back to me immediately."

"Yes vizier," the messenger left in the dark and mounted his horse riding into the desert mountains beyond the palace.

Xena's eyes widened and she heard footsteps from afar. She peered from behind the corner and saw the vizier walking away back into the palace. He rounded the corner and she frowned at him, narrowing her eyes. "I always knew you were a snake," she smirked then turned around and decided to go back into the palace. She would keep quiet about this for now, but planned to tell Samuel about this as soon as possible. Until tomorrow then, she told herself.

* * *

Samuel just got out of his office after overlooking several documents and even came up with a treaty for the Scythian king. He was exhausted and thought he would retire to his room. He walked down the hall then saw Eve's room and thought he'd check on her to see if she was well.

Opening the door he saw Eve was asleep soundly in her bed and had the fireplace going. The cold breeze from the mountains crept into the bedroom and he smiled, closing the door. He took off his turban and set it on a table and slipped off his coat and threw it on a chair. Climbing onto the bed he looked at Eve as she was sleeping like a baby. He kissed her bare shoulder and his hand traveled down her arm then to her hip and her thigh.

Eve stirred awake and looked behind her to see Samuel in her bed. She smiled and yawned slightly, "what are you doing in my room?" she smiled. "Kings are not supposed to share beds with their wives. It's the rules you know," she mocked the vizier.

Samuel sighed, "forget the rules," he intertwined his hand with hers and kissed her fingers.

"And what if someone walks in here?" Eve smiled.

"I will send them away," he grinned and lifted her gown up and felt his hand near her hips and inner thigh.

"Samuel..." Eve said softly and he kissed her shoulder then her neck, "this is not a good idea," she smiled and turned over on her back staring into his green eyes.

"Why not?" he smirked at her and kissed her hand again, lifting his eyebrows in a teasing manner.

She sighed and looked at his kind face. His olive skin glistened in the subtle light in the room and ran her fingers through his dark thick wavy hair. " _Because_...this kind of behavior is what got me pregnant," she smiled and he didn't seem the least bit fazed.

"But you enjoyed it though," he teased and she chuckled under her breath and played with his fingers as he laid beside her. "So you're afraid every time I touch you, you will become pregnant? Is that it?" he laughed and she hit his shoulder.

"My mother will kill you if I have any more children," she said and he kissed her forehead softly.

"Your mother would come up with any reason to kill me, Eve. I don't think giving her grandchildren is one of them," he joked and she rolled over onto her side.

"Oh gods," she immediately felt awkward. "Let's not talk about her anymore, at least not in my bed and with... _you_  in it."

He smirked and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her body close to his. "Agreed." He kissed her shoulder again and then asked, "so I can't touch you at all?" he asked innocently.

Eve turned to him and saw he was quite serious and she laughed aloud. He blinked, "I was being serious!" he cried and she kissed his lips gently, wrapping her arm around his neck, bringing him closer to her.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Early in the morning Samuel woke up and took off Eve's arm that was draped over his chest and laid it on the bed softly. He smiled and got out of bed slipping on his pants and grabbed his tunic and quickly dressed. Slipping his khussas on, grabbing his coat and turban he began to quietly sneak out of the room.

Eve opened her eyes and felt the spot next to her was cold, "where are you going?" she yawned and stretched her arm over her head. He sighed and turned to her with an apologetic face.

"I have some business to care of," he saw the disappointment in her face and hated to leave the bed. In truth, he'd rather stay in bed with her all day instead of doing paperwork and have long meetings with councilmen and his vizier.

She sat up wrapping the sheet around her bare chest, "you always have business, Samuel. You just got back and I was only able to spend a few hours with you and most of it was sleeping," she frowned.

He sighed and tapped his fingernails on the bed, "after I'm finished with my meetings I will take you out for a walk in the gardens. How does that sound?"

She contemplated the offer for a moment and then said, "with no guards following us around?" she asked and he smiled nodding his head, agreeing to her conditions. "And no vizier, either?" she smiled sneakily. He sighed and relented. She crawled across the bed and the sheet slipped off her body. She stood on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently. "Then it's a deal," she whispered and he lowered his eyes, finding it hard to resist her especially after last night.

The door opened and Kosem walked in. She saw the king standing in front of Eve and gasped loudly, averting her eyes. Eve's eyes widened and she crept down, covering her body with the sheets and her cheeks reddened.

"My king, I didn't...know you were in here," Kosem said a bit embarrassed to walk in on both of them. "Perhaps I should come back..later?" she suggested.

Samuel smirked and kissed Eve's forehead and left for the door. He placed his hand on Kosem's shoulder, "don't bother, I was just leaving," he kissed her cheek then waltzed out the door to go to his room to change into a different set of clothes.

Kosem closed the door and remained facing the wall refusing to look at Eve. "Princess, forgive me. If I had known he was in here, I wouldn't have –"

"It's fine," Eve sighed and got out of bed with the sheet still wrapped around her body. She was looking for her kaftan and quickly snatched it from the chair nearby and put it on. "You should probably knock next time," she looked in the mirror and ran her fingers through her messy hair.

Kosem turned around and saw Eve was dressed and bowed her head, "you are usually still asleep at this time, princess. I always come in here to check on you and prepare your clothes for the day. Forgive me," she said sincerely.

Eve smiled at her placing her hands on her narrow hips, "you can stop apologizing now," she chuckled and the maid began looking through the wardrobe of dresses for Eve to wear for today. Eve grabbed a few towels to go wash her hair in the baths. "At least you apologized. Once, my mother walked in on me and this boy I was with when I was sixteen. He was a nice Egyptian boy from the Greek academy a few blocks away from the palace in Cairo." Eve smirked thinking of that awkward situation and Kosem followed her with oils and lotions. "Nothing happened, we were playing a game and fell asleep on my bed although it didn't look like that to my mother. I thought she was going to kill him!" she chuckled softly.

Kosem smiled finding some amusement in Eve's story. "I'm sure she was just protecting you, princess," she followed her into the baths and Eve took off her kaftan and walked into the floor bath.

Eve dipped her hair in the water and wiped her face with her hands. "She didn't let me outside of the palace for a month after that and also had guards spy on me and report back to her," she sighed shaking her head. "She didn't want any boys coming around me. Obviously that is not a problem anymore," she smiled and poured some oil onto her arms.

* * *

Samuel came walking down the hall with his vizier catching up to him. Xena was waiting for Samuel to arrive and she smiled at him, "Samuel, I need to speak to you."

He stopped and sighed, rubbing his forehead, "can this wait, Xena? I'm very busy right now." He said and she frowned at him.

"It's very important and I think you would like to know about it," she said seriously and he tapped his shoe on the floor. He agreed to speak to her and told her to follow him to his office.

Samuel sat down at his desk and gestured for Xena to sit down as well. Jazar stood by his side and Xena frowned up at him. "So what is so important?" he leaned forward on the desk.

Xena crossed one leg over the other, "I will tell you but..." he eyed the vizier, "he has to leave," she requested.

The king frowned, "Xena whatever you say you can say around my vizier," he said and Xena remained quiet, tapping her fingers on her knee impatiently.

"I'm not saying a word until you tell him to leave," she stood her ground and Samuel thought that this woman was very stubborn, even more so than her daughter. Obviously, it was important otherwise she wouldn't bother coming to talk to him. He sighed and told his vizier to leave the room temporarily.

Now the two were alone and he leaned back in his chair staring at her curiously. "Alright Xena, you have my full attention now," he smiled politely at her.

She still felt like someone was watching or listening and she got up and began pacing around the room. "As you know, I don't like your vizier. He was your father's advisor and he dislikes me too. You and I are close aren't we, Samuel?" she smiled.

"Well, I guess so," he watched her pace around and he was very bemused at her behavior.

"And you trust me don't you?" she asked and he nodded, agreeing with her. She stopped and leaned on his desk, coming very close to his face. "Your vizier is plotting against you," she whispered and he blinked, a bit shocked to hear that. "Last night I was taking a walk in the gardens and I saw him talking to a messenger from Scythia. I believe he has been sending messages to the Scythian king for awhile now..." she smiled at the young king.

Samuel stood up and huffed, pacing back and forth behind his chair. "What proof do you have?" he asked, suspicious of her, though he knew that Xena was not a liar, he just couldn't believe that his own vizier would betray him.

She folded her arms, "you should check the balance of your treasury. He is sending money to the Scythian king."

His eyes widened and his blood began to boil. He immediately stormed out of the room to go to the treasurer in a room below the palace. Xena passed the vizier and smiled deviously at him. The vizier was confused and he frowned at her, watching her follow the king down the stairs to the basement of the palace.

* * *

Ibn Malak, the treasurer saw the king storm into the room. He stood up frantic at his arrival and bowed his head, "your majesty, I don't normally see you down here."

Samuel walked up to the man, "I want to see the count of yesterday's gold count and today's," he demanded. Ibn Malak looked through his log of numbers and scooted the book towards the king. Samuel looked at the numbers as they were divided up into several sections. A portion for food, weaponry, clothing, palace necessities and war efforts. He looked carefully, flipping the pages back and forth. He saw that the allowance for weaponry was decreased by a landslide and the war efforts allowance remained the same.

He pointed to the weaponry numbers, "why has our weapon allowance decreased in one day?" he asked.

Ibn Malak checked the numbers with a magnifying glass and looked up at the king. "The Grand vizier asked me to take money out of the weapon allowance yesterday. He said he was giving it to you," he bowed his head.

Xena snickered at the entrance and Samuel turned to her, furious at this discovery. "Is that enough proof for you?" she asked with a smug grin. He growled and stormed out of the room to go confront of his vizier.

* * *

Jazar was in the throne chamber speaking with one of the guards in hushed tones and Samuel marched for him. "Vizier!" Samuel yelled and Jazar turned around, quite alarmed to see the king in such an irate mood.

"Yes, your majesty?" he folded his hands behind his back and noticed Xena standing behind him with a smile on her face. Of course she would be smiling, she was up to something and he always hated her.

"I was informed that you took money out of the weapon allowance and you were supposed to give it to me," he said and the vizier's face paled. "Are you in contact with the Scythian king?" he asked.

Jazar stumbled in his speech, "no of course not, your highness. I would never go behind your back."

Samuel frowned, "is that so? Xena told me she heard you speaking to a Scythian messenger, is that a lie as well?"

Jazar glared at the empress, "your highness, the empress does not like me. She is lying to you!"

Xena laughed, "I am lying? I have no reason to lie, vizier. Wasn't it you who called the king young and naive and unfit to rule Persia?" she smirked and Samuel grit his teeth then raised his hand and slapped Jazar across the cheek.

The vizier stumbled back and fell to the floor. Samuel walked over to the elderly man and kicked him in the leg, "you insult my wife," he kicked him again and the vizier winced in pain. "You insult the Empress of Greece," he kicked the man in his ribs and the vizier curled his legs close to his chest. "You insult my mother!" he kicked his spine harshly, "and you insult your king!" he stomped on his hip and the vizier moaned in agony, gasping for air.

Xena stood at a distance and her eyes widened as she witnessed Samuel kicking the life out of this elderly man. She had never seen him act this way, even in battle together he did not behave like so.

"Guards!" Samuel yelled out and a swarm of guards came to his side. "Take this filth away and put him in prison until I decide what to do with him," he said and walked away.

Jazar groaned in pain, "your highness!" he began and the guards hoisted him up, "your highness, please!" he pleaded and Samuel kept walking ignoring his pleas.

Xena followed Samuel down the hall and he turned to her, "Xena, I want to thank for you relaying this information to me. I should have got rid of him long ago."

She smiled, "we make mistakes and learn, but now, you need to deal with the Scythian king," she said and he nodded, rubbing his chin.

He waved to his royal guard, "tell my general Mehmed, that I want all the court interviewed. I want to know everything about them, what they eat, where they go, how they spend their vacations and what people they see outside the palace." The guard nodded, "and make sure Mehmed sends a report back to me immediately!" he called out as the guard began running off with the others to find General Mehmed.

* * *

Later Eve left her room after Kosem fixed her hair and she wore a gold dress with black trim. It was still early in the day and she had yet to see her mother or Samuel, though she figured that Samuel was busy, as usual. She tread down the hallway and went to the guest room that her mother and Gabrielle stayed in during their visit.

She entered the room and saw Gabrielle was awake and fixing the bandage around her ankle. She looked up and saw Eve and grinned at her. "How is your ankle?" Eve came closer.

Gabrielle sighed, "I should be able to walk on it in a few more days, hopefully!" she smiled and grabbed her staff hoisting herself up off the bed. "You look nice," she scanned her dress and noticed her hair neatly done with perfect curls and jewels in her hair.

Eve rolled her eyes, "Kosem always does my hair every morning. I tried to tell her that she doesn't need to, but she doesn't listen to me!" she grinned and linked arms with Gabrielle. "Are you and mother going to return to Greece soon?"

Gabrielle frowned, "well she hasn't mentioned anything to me." They walked together to the balcony to sit for awhile. She sat down and Eve sat next to her. "Where is she anyway?"

Eve shook her head, "I have no idea. I haven't seen her all morning," she sighed and looked at the mountains from afar. From here, they could see the port of Susa, which was equally as beautiful. "Gabrielle..." she couldn't stop thinking about yesterday with Gabrielle's and Fadi's interaction with one another. The blonde turned to her with open eyes. "Why did you react like that...yesterday? with Fadi, I mean..." she asked, fearing that she might strike a nerve in her.

Gabrielle frowned and looked out at the rocky terrain. "I don't like people like him, Eve. Something happened to me when I was very young and I never want to hear about something like this to someone I love, especially you," she grabbed Eve's hand squeezing it tightly.

The princess smiled weakly and nodded. She could hear the sadness and anger in her voice. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle smiled, "It was a long time ago. I was fifteen years old and just left Potidaea a few years ago. I was lost and confused. A young man, who I thought was going to help me, ended up taking advantage of me and having his way with me." She grew even more angry the more her memories came rushing back to her. "It was then when a nice Egyptian man that worked for the Roman military found me and saved me." She smiled thinking of that nice, and thought he was probably dead by now, but if she saw him again, she'd definitely want to thank him.

Eve pat Gabrielle's hand then hugged her warmly from the side, "I'm glad that you were able to get away, Gabrielle."

"I'm glad that  _you_  were able to defend yourself," she kissed Eve's forehead."How's the life of being a Princess of Persia?" she smirked and Eve sighed heavily. "Not liking it too much?"

"It's not that," she tapped her fingers on the armrest of the chair she sat in, "Samuel is so busy and I know he's the king, but I hardly ever see him." Gabrielle rubbed Eve's arm warmly and the young princess looked out at the mountains then to Gabrielle. "He hasn't even seen the children since he came back."

Gabrielle knew that feeling all too well. She remembered when Xena was still a very busy empress in Athens and she was always gone or busy with treaties, meetings and documents when Eve was a child. She hardly ever saw her, but she always made time to see her even when Xena was super tired and worn out. Xena hit her peek as empress during those years and everyone was out to get her it seemed. Not long after she defeated Octavius the first time, she had to meet with many princes, kings and queens from Africa which caused her to be absent through much of Eve's young childhood. Though Eve was too young to remember the times when Xena was gone, she definitely caught on when she was around six years old.

After Xena had settled down a bit more when Eve was older and after she lost pretty much everything and fled to Egypt to live there for awhile. Xena was more active in Eve's life when she was around twelve or thirteen. At this time, Samuel was very young, probably one of the youngest kings to rule in Persia and he was at the height of his reign, making him vulnerable to attacks and people trying to take advantage of his position. It was no wonder that he was so busy and hardly had any time to see his wife or children especially dealing with the Scythians. The Scythians are the same burden that the Romans were to Xena.

"Eve," Gabrielle grabbed her hand and the princess looked at her with wary eyes. "Remember when your mother was away a lot when you were younger?" Eve nodded. "Samuel is very busy because of his age. Now that he is old enough to rule by himself without his vizier and mother by his side making the decisions for him, he has to do it all by himself."

Eve never thought about it like that and knew that Gabrielle was right. She remembered when her mother was gone a lot and she missed her a lot, but now it seemed like her mother was always around her and before, she wanted her gone, now she didn't want her to leave her.

"So I should be patient with him?" Eve asked and Gabrielle nodded.

"He loves you and I'm sure he wants to spend more time with you but his people and empire will always come first."

Eve scoffed, "sounds familiar," she mumbled, thinking of her mother and her giant empire. "I just don't want him to miss out on his children's lives."

Gabrielle nodded, feeling her anxiety and worry. "He won't, trust me. Just keep them around him at all times," she smiled.

Eve nodded, "thank you Gabrielle," she smiled and kissed her cheek and stood up to leave.

"Where are you off to now?" Gabrielle asked with a smirk.

"Samuel promised me that he would take me on a walk in the gardens this afternoon. I'm going to hold him to his promise," she smiled and disappeared from the balcony.

* * *

In the throne chamber Samuel sat talking with Xena about his councilmen. "I trust Mehmed and his judgment. He will do what is needed," he said.

Xena nodded, "make sure he picks out the liars in the group and sends the men directly to you otherwise they will continue to lie."

He groaned feeling a headache coming on. "Now what should I do about King Nimrood? He will have Persia's money to fund his army. I don't want to have a war with him, but I cannot have him thinking that my court supports him."

Xena knew that this was going to turn into a problem especially with Persia being border brothers with Scythia. "Have an emissary sent to Scythia and ask for the money to be returned, including the weapons he bought with Persian money. If he refuses...then you might have to go see him in person again..."

Samuel pinched the bridge of his nose, "and if he refuses again?"

Xena sighed, "then you war with him. That is the only way to make him stop," she said seriously and knew that was not what Samuel wanted to hear. She decided to offer her own help, "you may use my men at your disposal if you wish." She smiled.

He shook his head, "Xena that is kind of you, but you just finished a war, I don't want to drag you into this mess."

"Don't be ridiculous. You helped me, now let me return the favor. This is not up for discussion," she smiled and he sighed heavily thinking this was such a bad idea. He thought that if it came to war, then Xena's men will definitely be an asset to Persia, considering her empire was much larger and would trump Scythia's army to the ground.

Eve came into the room and saw her mother speaking with Samuel which was odd. "Mother, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you all morning," she interrupted.

Xena stood up to greet her daughter, "business affairs," she said and Eve nodded, knowing what that meant. She was not allowed to tell her since Samuel was her husband and he was king. The two had a higher status than her and since she was in Persia, she was not allowed to know all the details of Persian affairs and politics.

Eve turned to her husband, "Samuel you promised me a walk in the gardens earlier, remember?" she smiled.

He cursed to himself, forgetting about that promise he made to her early this morning. She frowned at him folding her arms. "Samuel, you  _promised_  me," she said lowly.

He stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled, "I did promise you," he gestured her to lead the way to the gardens and saw her eyes light up, something he enjoyed seeing. He did want her to be disappointed and a small walk couldn't hurt anyone.

She grinned, "I thought we could take Layla and Luca with us. You haven't seen them since you got back."

"Sounds good to me," he smiled then Eve left to go get the children and he looked at Xena. "Tell me when Mehmed is done interrogating my councilmen." He instructed and she nodded then he sauntered off to help Eve with the twins.

* * *

Later Gabrielle came to find Xena speaking with the royal guards. She approached her slowly, "what are you up to?" she asked curiously. Xena turned her with a smile, happy to see her. "Butting your nose where it doesn't belong again?"

Xena smirked, "just helping a friend, Gabrielle." She pointed to the gardens, "Samuel and Eve are on a walk together with the children. They left an hour ago." Gabrielle looked outside and saw the two of them walking together, each with a child in their arms. "Gabrielle," she placed a hand on her shoulder, "this is becoming a serious problem. Samuel's vizier has been sending money to the Scythian King without Samuel's consent. Now the Scythian King has Persian money to fund his army. Samuel must convince the Scythians to return the money and weapons, but I fear that he won't abide by the rules."

Gabrielle knew this talk all too well. "You think the Scythians want a war, then?" Xena nodded instantly. "And you want to help the Persians?" she asked and again Xena agreed. "Well let's hope it doesn't come to that," she sighed heavily.

"You would help wouldn't you Gabrielle?" Xena hoped she'd say yes.

"Is Aphrodite the goddess of love?" Gabrielle grinned mischievously. "Of course I would! Although I was enjoying my vacation from war," she joked.

A messenger came running into the room looking for the king and was panicking. Xena frowned at the young man. "Yes?" the empress asked.

"Empress," he bowed his head, "I have a message for the king from the King of Assyria. Do you know where I might find his majesty?" he asked hoping she'd know.

Xena's eyes widened, "I will deliver it to him," she said and he nodded, giving her the letter and ran off. She ripped open the letter and Gabrielle gasped.

"Xena, you can't do that!" she exclaimed and Xena completely ignored her and read over the letter. It was torn on the corners and covered in blood and dirt.

_Send Persian aid to Qin._

_Solan and I are trapped in Scythian territory in the Himalayas._

_Not enough men._

_-Allat_

Xena frowned and folded the letter up and put it inside her bodice. Gabrielle looked confused and grabbed her arm. "Xena, what does it say?"

"Allat and Solan are trapped in Qin, fighting against the Scythians. They're asking for Persian aid."

"You need to tell Samuel," Gabrielle urged her and Xena remained silent.

"I knew Solan should not have gone to Qin. It is dangerous there," she cursed to herself. Though, she couldn't control her adult son, she still cared for him and wanted him to be safe and Qin was definitely the least safest place to be especially in Scythian territory, which she had no idea the Scythian kingdom stretched that far across the eastern map.

* * *

_Himalayas –Scythian Territory_

Allat hid behind some snowy brush and Solan was next to him, pressing his hand on his open wound on the side of his torso. Allat took out his bow and arrow and looked at the Scythians as they were searching for them. Solan groaned and Allat frowned. "Shh, you will give our position away," he whispered and drew his arrow back aiming at a large Scythian soldier. He let go of the arrow and shot the Scythian through his heart and saw him fall over into the snow bank.

Solan winced in pain and Allat threw his bow over his shoulder and grabbed Solan beneath his arms and drug him off in the snow. The Assyrian king grunted and drug Solan off and then heard Scythians yelling at one another. He saw two of them peer over the brush and pointed at them. "Shit," Allat groaned and pulled Solan behind a couple of trees. "I'll be back," he frowned and drew two swords from his sheaths and came at the soldiers.

Allat plunged one of the blades into a Scythian and tripped the other with his boot. He growled and kicked the wounded soldier down and then struck the other Scythian in his chest. Allat breathed heavily then saw three more Scythians running towards him. He cursed to himself silently and thought he probably was going to expect more of them after these guys.

There were hordes of Scythians in this area and Allat had no idea that the Scythians even drifted this far off the map and he regretted coming here especially with Solan. As the Scythians attacked him all he could hope for was that the Persians would come to help but he thought that it might be too late. It had been four days since he sent that letter and he didn't even know if the messenger made it alive. If the Scythians were attacking the people of Qin in the Himalayas then it was a good chance that the Persians were dealing with the Scythians as well.

Solan ripped off a piece of his already torn cape and wrapped it around his torso to protect his bleeding wound. He looked behind him and saw Allat trying to fend off four Scythians at once. Solan grabbed a dagger from his boot and closed one eye aiming at one Scythian without a helmet that was about to strike Allat from behind. He threw the dagger and it went directly through the Scythian's eye and he groaned in agony, dropping his mace. He scooted away so he was not noticeable and hid behind one of the larger trees and exhaled sharply as the slightest movement further opened his wound even more.

Allat breathed heavily and had slain all four Scythians coming for him then heard some more coming his way. He groaned and sheathed both of his swords. He ran to Solan and hoisted him up. "We need to get out of here, there's too many of them!" it began to snow and Solan grunted as he held his side with his palm. Allat looked to his friend and was starting to become worried seeing all the blood he already lost and his face was extremely pale too. He looked ahead and saw a small cave. "Can you make it over there?" he yelled as the snow began to come down heavier as they walked. Solan looked ahead and the cave seemed so far, but he nodded and clung onto Allat as tightly as possible.

* * *

What seemed like an eternity later, they finally arrived at the hidden cave and Allat put Solan down on the cold ground. He went to the entrance and blocked it with a few branches from a snowy tree. He rubbed his hands together then looked at his friend. Kneeling beside him he touched his wound and Solan hissed. "That looks pretty bad, my friend," he said shaking his head and unwrapped the cloth and ripped open Solan's tunic. He saw pieces of a blade stuck in there and some debris.

Allat stuck his fingers in the wound without warning and Solan cried out in pain. He pulled out the debris and an end of a dagger blade and wiped his hands on his pants. "All of our medical supplies were left on the horses a few miles back," Allat groaned and pressed his palm on Solan's wound.

Solan reached in a pouch he had hanging off his belt and handed it to Allat. The Assyrian king looked inside and saw a few dried herbs in there. He smiled, "brother, you are resourceful," he took some of the herbs out and spit in his palm to moisten them. "This is going to hurt," he began gently packing the wound with the herbs and Solan's eyes widened though he refused not to make a sound.

"We...we should have sent a letter to my mother," Solan said in between harsh breaths.

Allat shook his head, "Greece is too far from here. Hopefully Samuel gets the message and will come to help us." He sighed and took off his cape and wrapped it around Solan for warmth. He stood up and began pacing around not knowing what to do next. "That should hold you up for a few days. We can't stay in this cave forever or they will find us," he scanned the area and barely could see anything with the blizzard coming in fast and hard.

Solan coughed, "my mother was right," he exhaled slowly, mindful of his breathing.

Allat turned around frowning at his blonde friend, "about what?"

"Qin is dangerous," he smiled weakly and felt so cold. Allat smirked and sat next to him and pat his leg gently. "Do you think the Persians will come save us?"

The king sighed, "I hope so my friend. We will need to leave when the storm calms down. I don't want the Scythians to find us," he frowned.

* * *

The following morning Allat grabbed Solan and they began walking out of the cave. The snow storm had subsided and it was very sunny outside. There was barely any coverage for them to hide behind so it was going to be tough to try and get out of here.

Allat helped Solan out of the cave and then saw they were surrounded by swords and spears. He blinked and Solan glanced around him. "They aren't Sycthians..." Solan mumbled.

A man dressed in all black and green wearing a black gaunmao on his head sat on his large black horse staring them down. He smiled at the two travelers, "you shouldn't leave trails of blood, you know, people could find you and kill you." He chuckled then quirked his head to the side, "you are not from Qin, are you?" he asked and both Solan and Allat remained frozen, afraid what might happen to them. "Who are you?" he frowned looking at them.

Allat spoke first and cleared his throat, "King of Assyria," he said proudly and the man nodded then turned to his blonde friend.

Solan looked up at the man on his horse, "Prince of Greece," he said not as confident as Allat did.

The man frowned, "Prince of Greece?" he tapped his fingers against his thigh, "so you must be the empress's son," he smiled. Solan's eyes grew in shock and the man laughed aloud. "Don't look so shocked! I am an old friend of Xena's, well actually...she was my mother's friend. I can't say your mother and I have the best relationship," he sighed. "So what are you two westerners doing in Qin?" he smiled and the two remained silent. He frowned at the two then snapped his fingers to his soldiers. "Take them," he demanded.

Allat groaned and began to fight them off and before the man began trotting off he smirked. "I forgot to introduce myself," he bowed his head to the Assyrian King, "my name is Ming Tien, Emperor of Qin," he smiled as he saw Allat struggling. "It would befit you to stop struggling, your majesty." Allat spat at him and Ming Tien frowned and one of the soldiers hit Allat with the butt of the spear and he fell backward into the arms of the soldiers holding his arms.

Solan was taken by two Qin soldiers and Ming Tien, "careful with the Greek Prince. I will make sure he receives  _special_  treatment." He clicked his tongue against his cheek and pulled on his horse's reins then rode off in the snow with his men following behind him.

Ming Tien's men put Solan and Allat in a large cage and were being carried by two horses threw the thick snow. Solan looked at the emperor and sighed heavily as he saw Allat was knocked out still. "You and your enemies, mother..." he grumbled to himself.

* * *

Xena went out into the gardens to interrupt Samuel's and Eve's time alone. "Samuel," she said loudly and he turned around to see her marching towards him with a letter in her hand. He frowned and she stopped in front of him. "Allat sent a letter from Qin. He and Solan are in trouble and were attacked by the Scythians."

Samuel groaned, "Scythians are everywhere!" he cursed himself and held Luca in his arms and he was sleeping on his chest. He looked down at him and was conflicted. Xena held out her arms and he gave him to her in exchange for the letter. He opened it and read it over quickly. It was short and sweet, right to the point. "I should send my Alps to search for them," he said and Xena looked confused. "Alps are some of my best fighters and are sent on dangerous mission such as this."

Eve stood next to Samuel and grabbed his arm, "is Solan alright?" she asked, worried for her elder brother.

He sighed, "I hope so," he reached down and kissed her cheek. "I need to speak to Mehmed about this," he said with an apologetic look on his face. She understood and nodded then he began running off back to the palace.

Eve came to stand next to her mother and adjusted Layla on her hip, "are you going to help save Solan and Allat?"

Xena frowned, "I am not allowed in Qin and I promised I'd never return there," she began walking back to the palace and brushed her hand against Luca's dark hair.

"Mother, you need to help Samuel! Solan could be hurt or trapped somewhere!" she said and Layla looked up at her with wide eyes. Xena let out a large sigh and remained silent. Eve frowned, "if you don't go then I will."

Xena turned to her with irate eyes, "no!" she said loudly and Luca woke up, crying softly on her chest. She groaned inwardly and began trying to calm him down.

"Forget about the agreement you made a long time ago, mother and just go to Qin," Eve said and they entered the palace and Xena handed off Luca to Kosem. "I don't want anything to happen to Solan," she touched her mother's arm, "he's my only brother," she smiled softly.

Xena kissed her daughter's forehead and grazed her cheek gently, "if I leave...I will be gone for a long time." She admitted seriously.

Eve looked into her mother's eyes, "just bring him back."

* * *

Awhile later in the evening General Mehmed came to Samuel's office with a report of all the people he interrogated. He bowed his head to his king, "your majesty, I have interviewed everyone that you asked me to."

Samuel nodded, "good, but that can wait. I have another problem to deal with," he sighed and Mehmed raised a thick brow. "The Scythians attacked the Assyrian King and Prince of Greece in Qin. They asked for our help and I want to send our Alps to find them."

Mehmed nodded, understanding the king's decision. "Afendim, if I may say, our Alps do not know the terrain of Qin very well. It could take weeks or even months to find them. Qin is a large territory." Samuel banged his fist on the desk and never felt so much frustration or stress in his short life until this very moment. He had too much to deal with at once –first the Scythians invading Susa, then the Scythian king receiving his money, his vizier betraying him, his own brother tried to have sex with his wife and now this Qin situation.

"Do you know of anyone that is familiar with the terrain?" Mehmed suggested.

Samuel sighed, "yes I do," he did not even want to ask Xena to help, but he was sure that she would especially if her son was being attacked.

A few minutes later Xena was brought into his office and she stared at Samuel then at his general. Mehmed bowed his head at her and she curtly nodded at the man. Samuel tapped his fingers on the desk then stood up staring at the empress. "Xena, you know the terrain of Qin well, don't you?"

"Yes," Xena said immediately.

He sighed not sure how to say this, "I hate to ask you this but, I want you to go with my Alps to Qin to help rescue Allat and Solan. I understand if you don't –"

"I will do it," Xena said folding her arms and he blinked, quite surprised at her quick response. "How many Alps do you have?"

"I have twelve," he said and she shook her head.

"That is not enough especially if we are dealing with Scythians. If Allat and Solan were not able to handle the Scythians by themselves, that means they have a horde of them in Qin."

Samuel raised an eyebrow, "Xena, my Alps are trained under the Anatolian Alps ever since they could walk. They are more than qualified."

Xena was about to protest until Mehmed intervened. "If I may make a suggestion?" he said and Xena looked to him. "The empress may take all twelve Alps plus twenty of our best archers to Qin. We will need the rest of the army to stay here in case King Nimrood decides to invade or do something irrational."

Samuel nodded, liking the idea of that, "what do you think Xena?" he asked for her approval and she agreed with him and the general. "We will need a week at the most to gather up necessary supplies."

"I will tell Gabrielle that we will be leaving soon," Xena smiled and left the room.

Mehmed now turned to his king now that they were alone in the room. "Your highness, I have gathered a lot of information from the court," he said pulled out a stack of parchment and plopped down on the desk. Samuel sat down and began looking through of all his general's notes. "It seems that the vizier, Jazar, has been sending money to the Scythian king for his army in the last year when you were absent. To my knowledge, all of the councilmen were aware of this and were able to hide it by switching around allowances to make it seem like no money was missing at all in the budget."

Samuel's blood began to boil as he heard Mehmed speak of the betrayal of his councilmen, especially in his absence. It was the vizier's job to oversee political matters when the queen and king were gone and he was not even able to do that correctly. He waved his hand, "I want them arrested."

Mehmed nodded, " _all_  of them, your majesty?"

"Yes. Tell them they will be sentenced to death for their treason to Persia," Samuel got up and left the office, infuriated at his own people betraying him for so long and right under his nose too.

**AN: I wanted to address that in the show that Scythians were mentioned a lot, but it was not mentioned who they were or where they come from. The Scythians had an empire that bordered ancient Persia. They are from modern day Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. They also had military posts in ancient China, India and parts of Pakistan. They were excellent fighters and indeed ruthless warriors.**

**some side notes: "afendim" means respected sir and "gaunmao" is a headdress worn by ancient Chinese emperors in the ancient Qin dynasty.**

**and I realize there's a crap ton of politics in these last few chapters, so try and keep up! ;)**


	43. Chapter 43

**AN: a lot going on in this chapter and a lot of switching of locations as well. Xena is heading back to a place where she never thought she'd go again. It's almost that time lol -to put flashbacks in of Qin, my version of what happened in Qin, so long ago! For now, enjoy ;) and thanks for reading along.**

Chapter 43

_One week later_

Samuel's archers and Alps were waiting outside for Xena and Gabrielle. Samuel was going over the plans with Xena quickly before they left. He had a map laid out on his desk and pointed to the Himalayas. "Allat and Solan said they were here," he pointed to the direct spot.

Xena nodded, "I doubt they will be in the Himalayas now. If they are smart they would have relocated," she added.

Gabrielle frowned and looked at the vast amount of land that Qin covered. "Xena, Qin is huge. How will we find them if they are not in the mountains?" she asked, looking up at her, worried already and they hadn't even left yet.

Xena looked at the kingdom of Qin and it was a bigger kingdom now than it was thirty five years ago, she was sure of that. Lao Ma had a small portion of Qin at that time, but now that her son was in charge of the kingdom, he conquered all of the territories, including Yan, Han, Wei and Zhou. The kingdom was far greater than she had imagined it would be. She thought that it would die out, but instead Qin expanded thanks to its emperor in charge. She then thought of the treaty that she signed so long ago during the first few years of her reign and promised never to return. Now that Allat and Solan were trapped in Qin, she was about to break one of her promises. She had broken many treaties before in her life for the sake of power and greed in order to expand her empire, but Qin was special. Lao Ma was considered a friend of hers and even though she was dead, she felt like she was about to betray a friend and go into the land she promised never to return to no matter what.

She was lost in her own thoughts and kept staring at the map in silence. Gabrielle and Samuel looked at each other waiting for Xena to say something. Gabrielle touched Xena's arm and the empress shook her head, standing up straight. "Qin is large, but its center of power is in one spot," she pointed to Xianyang, the capital of the great Qin dynasty. "The rest of Qin is desert and barren."

Gabrielle frowned, getting a headache just looking at the large place. "We could be searching for weeks!"

"Then we search for weeks, Gabrielle!" Xena said firmly and Gabrielle's eyes widened in shock. "We will find them, no matter what." Gabrielle nodded, biting her bottom lip, lowering her gaze. She understood Xena's frustration and didn't dare argue with her.

Samuel sighed, "my men are waiting for you outside, Xena," he bowed his head and she left the room. Gabrielle smiled at him then followed behind her. Her ankle was able to heal quickly and walked normally now.

* * *

Eve saw her mother get on her horse and of course, she wore her black armor and cape to match. She ran up to her and saw snow begin to fall. "Mother, make sure you find Solan and bring him back," she looked up to her with teary eyes.

Xena smiled and grabbed her hand, "I will," she pulled on her horse's reins and looked to Gabrielle. "Are you ready?" she smirked.

Gabrielle mounted her horse and smiled at her then the gates were opened then Xena and Gabrielle rode off outside the palace walls with the twenty archers and twelve Alps. Eve watched them leave and as soon as the gates closed she leaned against the metal bars, gripping tightly as she saw her mother and Gabrielle ride off into the mountains of Persia. She had seen her mother leave her many times and never feared for her safety but this time it was different. Qin was dangerous as her mother said and she promised never to return for good reason and now she was going back to a place that she forbade herself to go to.

A few hours later the riders halted and slowed down to a trot to allow their horses to relax a bit. Gabrielle looked behind her and was no longer able to see the Persian palace any longer. They were coming to the outskirts of Persia and into the more snowy area. She pulled her white hood over her head and saw Xena's cloak was covered in snow as well as her black hood.

She pulled up alongside her and she had been very quiet the entire journey so far. "I know you didn't want to go back to Qin, Xena," she said in a soft voice and Xena was silent and kept her eyes on the snowy road ahead. "It must bring a lot of painful memories for you..."

Xena turned her head and looked at Gabrielle. "I did horrible things in Qin, Gabrielle. I ruined every chance that Borias and I had to join the Kingdom of Lao. He had such great plans and ideas and I ruined it all and for what?" she scoffed shaking her head feeling ashamed of herself. "I did it for myself, not for anyone else. I was selfish and foolish," she sighed. "After I became Empress of Greece, I wrote a long lengthy letter to Lao Ma and told her I would never try to invade Qin. That was probably the only selfless thing I did during my dark reign."

Gabrielle smiled weakly, "did you do it because of your friendship with Lao Ma or because you felt ashamed of yourself?"

"Both," Xena answered immediately. "She wasn't  _my_  friend –I was hers. I didn't understand why she wanted to be my friend," she frowned just thinking about it. "I was a terrible person, yet she saw good in me and at the time, I couldn't see it. I regret never befriending her later on, only to find out that she died and her son, Ming Tien became the emperor." She felt her blood boiling just thinking about it. "He is not fit to rule Qin. He has probably destroyed everything his mother wanted for her kingdom of peace."

"Will your mind be clear enough to go on this journey?" Gabrielle asked and Xena lowered her eyes in shame of herself. "You might find things you do not like in Qin, Xena. I just want to make sure you are alright," she smiled and grabbed her hand for solace.

Xena squeezed Gabrielle's hand and frowned looking at the path ahead of them. "Anger clouds the mind. Anger is like a poison –I have been poisoned for so long, I'm not going to let my memories distract me from the goal." She pulled her hand away and tugged on the reins. "We are going to find Allat and Solan. We will bring them back," she rode off and Gabrielle grunted then rode off behind her. The men rode quickly behind the two as the snow began to fall heavier and heavier by the minute.

* * *

_Xianyang, Qin_

Solan and Allat were thrown onto the floor and Ming Tien went to his throne and smiled sitting down looking at the two wanderers. Solan grunted, holding his side as it continued to bleed with the more movements he made.

"You are wounded," the emperor said and snapped his fingers at his right hand man. "See it that the Greek Prince gets proper treatment," he smiled and two men grabbed Solan dragging him off. Allat growled and saw Solan being drug away.

"If you hurt him, I will kill you!" he spat and tried to get up then a guard came and kicked him in the gut. He winced and doubled over in pain.

Ming Tien smirked, "you threaten me?" he stood up and walked to the king. He lifted Allat's head up by his hair and Allat groaned. "You are in Qin's Empire now. You have no authority here anymore," he smiled deviously. "You lost all rights once you crossed Persia's borders."

Allat frowned up at the emperor. "The Shah will find us and save us."

Ming Tien laughed loudly. "The Shah?" he continued to laugh. "If he makes it past the Scythian territory alive that is..." he sighed heavily and released the Assyrian then walked back to his throne. "You are friends with the Greek Empress, aren't you?" he smirked and Allat said nothing to reveal any vital information. "I know who Xena is," he said and Allat lifted his eyes at him. "I thought she'd be dead by now with the way she runs her empire," he chuckled under his breath. "She was banished from Qin long ago and then years later, she banished  _herself_!" he laughed hysterically and Allat lifted a brow at this mad emperor.

"She is a fool," Ming Tien frowned. "If she steps foot in Qin I will execute her."

Allat scoffed, "good luck with that..." he mumbled.

"You dare mock me?" Ming Tien stood up and grabbed a sword pointing the tip of the blade dangerously close to Allat's throat. "Xena likes to torture her victims then kill them. I just execute them," he smiled. "She likes to play her stupid games with her ridiculous riddles. She is a monster."

Allat looked down at the blade and held his breath. "She has changed. You don't know Xena. She is not the person that you remember her to be."

Ming Tien chuckled and pulled his sword back. "Is that so? Would she kill someone if they disagreed with her?" he asked and Allat lowered his gaze. "Would she kill another ruler if let's say... _I_  defied her? Like she did to the previous Persian King..." still no answer from the Assyrian. "I thought so," he frowned and sat back down on his throne. "She has not changed, Assyrian." He tapped his fingers on the armrest. "She will always be the same Xena and now that I have you and her son, I will make sure you get special treatment, courtesy of Xena," he grinned and snapped his fingers. "Take him away."

The guards picked Allat up and began hauling him away from the emperor's throne room. Ming Tien smiled at the Assyrian King as he was struggling to get free. He frowned then looked to his advisor, "I want all the information you have on those Scythians. They will try to come to my kingdom and attack us."

The advisor nodded, "your highness, the Scythians are coming from Persia. They are in the Himalayas but will surely move closer to Xianyang."

Ming Tien sighed heavily, "those Persians. They can't even handle their own kingdom and allow these Scythians to walk all over them!" he banged his fist on the armrest. "No problem," he smiled, "we have a Wall and Persia does not. Make sure the Wall is guarded at all times. I do not want any surprise attacks!" he stood up and stormed out of the room with his royal attendants following behind him swiftly.

* * *

Solan was brought to a large room and laid down on a table. His eyes danced around the strange room. He had never been in a place like this before. Three women came up to him and stripped him of his clothes. They took his pants off and his eyes widened. He felt their hands begin to roughly touch his body and they grabbed his inner thighs.

"Whoa!" he yelped and the women seemed to ignore him and kept searching his body for any other wounds. He had quite a few, but certainly the worst one was on his side. One woman began cleaning out the old herbal mixture that Allat tended to a few days ago. He winced as the woman was not being very gentle with her small hands. "I don't suppose you could be a bit more...gentle?" he asked.

The woman looked at him and rolled his body over on his uninjured side. Solan sighed and then felt her hands touch his spine and hips. He felt so violated at the moment but there wasn't much he could do. He wondered why his mother would ever come to Qin in the first place. He couldn't help but think of her last words to him and those were to "be careful" as she said. He took her for granted several times and always listened to her judgment but this time he didn't.

He had the feeling that her sentiments were not for safety but a cry for him to stay in Rome or Greece. She was giving him a warning, not being a kind mother that she was, but she was telling him to stay away from Qin and he should have listened to her. She was right, as always.

_"I know what you're going to say, be careful and all that motherly stuff, but I'll be fine."_

_"those lands are not like ours. I've been there before, just be aware of your surroundings."_

_"I promise I'll be safe."_

He sighed thinking of her and thought she could have never been more right. "I should have listened to you," he mumbled and could only see the look of disappointment on his mother's face etched into his brain. He winced as the women began sewing up his open wound and not gently as he asked. For such dainty small women, they sure had excellent strength _. I am not safe here, mother_.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

The Grand Vizier and several councilmen were lined up outside behind the palace, chained together with a soldier behind every man. Samuel walked the line and stared at each and every one of them. "Ten men before me. Ten liars, betrayers, criminals..." he said and all the men lowered their heads, closing their eyes and began silently praying to themselves. "My father has kept you in his kingdom since before I was born. You were his loyal servants and did his evil biddings." Samuel continued to walk slowly in front of them.

Eve came to the balcony and saw all the councilmen and Jazar lined up. She saw Samuel casually sauntering in front of them. She frowned and watched him carefully.

"You all are here because you have betrayed me; your king. My father is dead, slain by the Empress of Greece. His evil reign ceased, yet you all still continued to do his biddings even after his passing." He sighed shaking his head and lifted his vizier's chin to look at his face. "I am the king now and you all have failed me, especially..." he leaned into Jazar's face, " _you_ ," he hissed.

Samuel walked down back to the end of the line to the treasurer, Ibn Malak. "My trusted treasurer," he smirked. "You have been tried with theft," he waved his hand at the guard standing behind the man. The guard lifted his sword and took a clean swipe to the man's neck, decapitating him. The other men's eyes widened in fear and wouldn't dare look at the king.

"Bookkeeper, Ibn Farabi," Samuel stopped and the man looked at the king's gold khussas. "You have been tried with forgery. You signed fake documents in order to keep the gold flowing into Scythia without my knowledge," he smiled and waved his hand at the guard behind him and he was immediately beheaded. "But you had help..." he moved onto the next man.

Kosem came to the balcony and saw Eve watching the executions. "Princess, what are you doing here? You shouldn't watch terrible things like this!" she grabbed her arm and Eve pulled away from her.

"Are all Persians this barbaric?" Eve asked, a bit fearful that her husband was easily able to behead all these men without a single thought. She knew that they were all guilty but to kill them like this? She never thought he would try them like this. In her mother's new empire she put criminals on trial and then gave them their punishment but here...in Persia...they were instantly killed.

"My mother used to kill people like this, before I was born," Eve saw another man lose his head and she cringed then looked away, feeling sick just looking at the act. "This is not right. It is unjust."

Kosem lowered her head, "princess, sometimes kings need to do what they need to in order to get their point across." She said lowly.

Eve shook her head, "that doesn't make it right." She looked over the balcony and Samuel was standing in front of the vizier. She wanted to watch this as she had longed for Jazar's death ever since she met him more than a year ago. She despised him and obviously he did too.

Samuel smiled at the vizier. "All these other men were tried with one crime, yet you seem to be tried with all of the above," he frowned and Jazar looked into his eyes, pleading for forgiveness. "You are  _nothing_. You are a slave to my dead father and continue to undermine me as king and disrespect my mother, the queen of Persia for God's sake!" he growled and lifted the man's chin up.

The longer he stared into the vizier's eyes the more angry he became. He told his guard to standby and then the king drew his own sword. Jazar shook his head. "Your majesty...allow me to make it up to you. I can redeem myself, I swear to God."

Samuel frowned and lifted his blade, "you should not take God's name in vein, Jazar." He gripped the sword tightly and saw the man's eyes begin to tremble with fear. He cried out and with a swift clean swipe he beheaded his vizier and blood splattered all over his clothes and his face.

He wiped his face with his sleeve and lowered his blade. "May God forgive you," he whispered and sheathed his sword. Turning around he looked up and saw Eve staring down from the balcony. His mouth gaped as soon as he saw her, not expecting her to be watching the entire time. Eve frowned at him and then disappeared from the balcony. Samuel sighed then turned to his men, "clean this up," he demanded then stormed off back into the palace.

* * *

_Neutral Territory Between Qin and Persia_

The Alps suggested to stop here and continue in the morning as it was far too dark to see and there was a fierce snowstorm brewing. They found a spot to settle in, though it was a bit unprotected as they were in the middle of the snowy desert in between two vastly different lands. The set up tents in the area and the Alps stood outside taking turns in shifts to guard their campsite.

Xena and Gabrielle sat in a tent together and had a fire in the middle of the tent. Gabrielle wrapped her cloak around herself, feeling very cold. She hated snow especially snow like this. Snowstorms in this area were quite violent and nothing like Greece or Rome.

"Cold?" Xena smirked and sipped some of her hot soup. Gabrielle nodded and held her hands around the warm bowl of soup in her hands.

"Why would anyone want to live in a place this cold?!" Gabrielle shivered and Xena smiled and poked the fire with a stick, feeding the flames.

Xena had a devious grin on her lips. "I could hit you and you would forget about the cold," she offered.

Gabrielle mocked, "ha-ha, you're so funny," she saw Xena coming closer and she began scooting away. "Don't even think about it!" she held up her finger and Xena chuckled under her breath.

"I haven't camped in a long time," Xena said as she drank more of the soup. Gabrielle was too cold to eat anything and put the bowl aside, staring at Xena.

"Do you miss it?" she asked curiously.

Xena shrugged a shoulder, "it reminds me of my younger days. I used to camp a lot until I claimed Athens. It was always so exciting not knowing what would happen next in the camp grounds," she smiled reminding herself of what 'fun' she did have in those days. "But now, it's different."

Gabrielle eyed her, "how so?"

"I have lived a life of luxury for a long time, Gabrielle. I did not need to sleep in tents and if I did, they were huge extravagant tents like the ones I use in battles." She sighed, "sitting in this tent," she looked around herself, "this is not fun nor exciting. This is dangerous. We're on a rescue mission in unsafe territory. I do not look forward to what might happen next, but instead I fear it."

The blonde nodded, understanding Xena's anxiety about this entire situation. "We're going to find them, don't worry." She pat Xena's knee comfortingly.

"I just hope we are not too late..." Xena said as her eyes drifted to the flames in front of her. "You know, when I came to Qin, I was so eager to fight to get what I wanted. I wanted everything and Borias let me have it. He let me do whatever I wanted when I wanted. He even let me take control of his men," she smiled sadly. "Until we came to Qin, his mind was changed instantly and he pushed me aside. I was angry that I was not the center of attention."

Gabrielle chuckled, interrupting Xena's story. "I knew you were selfish but I didn't know you were a brat too!" she laughed harder and Xena rolled her eyes.

"Laugh all you want Gabrielle, but it's true!" she sighed, "when we stepped foot in Qin, I was not his focus anymore. He wanted to make friends with Lao Ma. He tried to do something good and because I wasn't in the picture, I wouldn't let him have it. I couldn't let him do it. I wanted the control and when that was taken from me...I lost my own self control, or what little I had."

"And so you killed all of those people." Gabrielle said and Xena nodded. "Did it make you feel better?" she wondered if that was the source of Xena's problems. If killing people made her feel better then it was true that she was no better than all the tyrants that ruled across the world.

Xena pondered on Gabrielle's question for a moment. She had never thought about if she actually enjoyed killing people or if she enjoyed the glory that came after the fact. "I guess I did. I enjoyed the satisfaction of it –knowing that I was able to accomplish something on my own without anyone's help. I was determined to make everyone know that I was in control and that I could one day rule all of the world." She sighed. "I told Brutus that one day I would rule Greece and he laughed at me," she chuckled softly, "but he underestimated me. I took control of Greece, parts of Egypt, Persia and controlled Assyria's trade routes into Anatolia and Egypt. When I met you, I had already negotiated with the Emperor of Qin to allow me 70 percent control of the Silk trade through Persia and Assyria. I wanted everything in my control, taking almost everything that the Romans had strived to achieve. I outnumbered them in territory, men, trade and gold."

Gabrielle frowned, "how did you accomplish all of those things in such a short time period?" she had always wondered that and never asked before, but now she was curious. Xena was able to claim Athens as her capital of her new empire and make deals with surrounding kingdoms in ten years. That never happened and usually took much longer to achieve goals such as that.

Xena smirked, "I worked very hard Gabrielle. I did not rule, I conquered and not with peace either. I went to each place –Egypt, Persia and Assyria. I told them to submit to me or die. I burned and pillaged many of their villages and cities to get what I wanted. After they saw the damage I could do, they relented and gave me permission to take control of their territories. Usually, rulers send emissaries to get their job done but I thought I'd make the journey and tell them in person what I wanted. I did not think of it like politics. I made it personal, everything was mine before it was mine."

Gabrielle sighed heavily, "I guess that your selfishness did get you what you wanted after all."

Xena nodded, "it did, but I was alone. I started to become bored with my life. I had everything already and thought it was over. I was by myself and after you showed up, things began to change and people betrayed me. I lost my connection with the Persian empire, Egypt and parts of Africa after the second Roman war. I lost everything and only had Greece."

"But now you have Rome, Greece, with Persia and Assyria on your side again," Gabrielle smiled.

"That is true and I am not alone this time," Xena smiled at Gabrielle and reached for her hand. "If Eve had never met Samuel again, I don't think I would have united with Persia again. And if it weren't for Solan's special bond with Allat, my relationship with Assyria would have dwindled and disappeared over time I fear." She lifted her eyes and Gabrielle looked into her blue eyes. "And without you, I wouldn't have anything at all." She said seriously.

Gabrielle blushed and she giggled softly, "now who is being the flatterer?" she teased.

Xena sighed, "Gabrielle I'm serious. Having a relationship with me is dangerous and there will always be new problems that arise and issues that must be fixed. It will never change."

Gabrielle squeezed her hand, "I know what I signed up for, Xena. If I didn't want to stay I would have left a long time ago. I'm with you until the end," she smiled and Xena grinned back at her. "Being your friend is not easy but I can live with it, just like I have for the past two decades."

"Are you saying I'm difficult to live with Gabrielle?" Xena teased and sipped on some wine, scooting closer to her giving her an unknowing look.

The blonde smiled nervously, "I didn't say  _that_..." a large of gust of wind entered the tent and snow flew inside. Xena stood up and tied down the entrance of the tent and Gabrielle brushed off the snow from her legs and cloak. "I really hate the cold!"

Xena smiled and sat back down beside her. "Really? I hardly noticed," she chuckled and sipped more of her wine.

Gabrielle noticed Xena was on her second glass of wine and she raised an eyebrow. "You drink a lot, you know that?"

Xena's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, "I do not," she protested.

Gabrielle smiled, "yes you do especially when you are nervous." She saw Xena lower her glass from her mouth and felt a bit guilty, like a little kid caught with a treat in the kitchen. "We will find them, Xena."

The empress set her glass down next to the fire, "I knew it was a bad idea to let Solan go to Qin. I should have –"

"Told him to stay?" Gabrielle finished her sentence. "You can't tell him what to do, he's not the innocent fifteen year old boy he once was. He hasn't been for a long time."

Xena groaned, "don't remind me. He will always be a little boy to me and I would do anything to protect from harm's way and this time, I couldn't protect him."

Gabrielle scooted closer to her and wrapped her arm around her. "You realize you will be breaking your promise to Lao Ma once we enter Qin territory..."

"Yes I know, but we both know I am more than qualified to lead this mission. I just hope...they're not..."

Gabrielle shook her head, "no don't say that, Xena. Don't think like that otherwise we will have come all this way for nothing!" she slightly punched Xena's shoulder, "you never say things like that. That's not the Xena I know," she rested her head against Xena's shoulder. She smiled as Xena remained quiet, "we're going to kick some Scythian ass, as Solan would say."

Xena looked down at her as Gabrielle lifted her eyes and laughed together.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Samuel came to his room and began taking off his clothes that had blood stains all over them. He threw his clothes at a maid and she caught them with ease. He walked over to his wardrobe and began looking through to find a new tunic and cloak to wear.

The doors opened and Eve walked in. the maid's eyes widened seeing the princess in the king's chambers, which was definitely a rare sight. Samuel turned his head and saw a very disapproving look on his wife's face. She stood with her arms folded and he nodded to his maid and she quickly left the room closing the doors behind her.

"Eve," he smiled at her, "you never come to my room." He looked at her then slipped on a tunic over his head and tucked it inside his wide leg harem pants.

"You murdered all those men in such a barbaric way," she said bluntly.

He was a bit off guard when she said this and grabbed a new cloak and slipped it on, fixing the collar in the mirror in front of him. "They are betrayers of the Persian Empire, Eve. I had to kill them otherwise they would keep committing crimes."

"You beheaded them without a fair trial," she said and he sighed heavily and closed the wardrobe up.

"This isn't Greece, Eve. We do things differently here."

She scoffed, "I am beginning to see that. You are not behaving like a merciful king. If my mother –"

He frowned, "I am not your mother. If I may remind you, dear wife, your mother killed my father."

"Your father kidnapped me! And tried to marry me off to you!" Eve yelled back, now becoming furious.

Samuel groaned inwardly, "and yet you are married to me now. If you don't approve of how I run my kingdom, you can leave."

Eve's eyes widened. "Leave?" she said softly, "you want me to leave?"

He sighed and came close to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "no I don't want you to leave, but you don't fit in this place, Eve."

She was speechless and lowered her head, "I've been trying my best, Samuel but this place is not like my home at all. You have so many rules and I am not even allowed to sleep in the same bed as you."

"I have been very lenient with you Eve. I've allowed you to do everything you want without any repercussions. My job as king and as your husband is to keep you safe from harm's way. I allow you to go outside the palace by yourself and do as you please and –"

Eve pushed him away gently, "you don't  _allow_  me to do anything. I don't need your permission to do what I want. My mother kept me locked away in the palace for many years because she feared something would happen to me. I don't need to be locked away again."

He sighed and realized that Eve was much different than other women, especially Persian women and that's what he liked about her the most. He also knew that Xena was extremely overprotective of her throughout her life and now that she was not here, Eve wanted to do what she wanted when she wanted.

"I'm not trying to lock you away, Eve. I just don't want anything to happen to you," he smiled at her and she was still frowning at him. He looked in her blue eyes. "I think you are very special and you have a big responsibility. You are a princess of Greece and Persia, daughter of an empress and wife to a king." He was waiting for her expression to change but it didn't. "And I have a very special job for you, if you are willing to take it?" he hoped.

She lifted an eyebrow, "what kind of job?" she was a bit more intrigued now.

"I need a new vizier," he smiled and saw her eyes widen. "I want to offer you the position. I think you would be very good at it." he saw that she was speechless and he kept smiling at her, hoping that she'd take the offer.

"You want  _me_  to be your vizier?" she reiterated.

He nodded, "please say yes," he begged. "Don't make me order you to as a king," he teased. "We will be able to work together and you are really good at strategic warfare. Something that I might need in the next few months against the Scythians," he exhaled sharply and gripped her hands tightly. "So will you take the offer?"

Eve quirked her mouth to the side then smiled up at him, "yes, but..." she wanted to add and his smile disappeared. "Won't your councilmen be upset that a woman is your vizier?"

Samuel smiled again, "my kingdom, my rules. It doesn't say that a woman cannot be a vizier." He took her hand and pulled her along with him.

"W-when do I start?" she asked as she was running to catch up with him.

"Right now," he smiled and they left his room.

" _Now_?!" she exclaimed and felt her heart beat quicken as the reality of everything began to settle in.

"Yes! We have a lot of work to do!" he smiled and her eyes were wide with fear and excitement of the unknown at the same time.

* * *

_Xianyang, Qin_

_Three Days Later_

Ming Tien took whipped Allat's chest and growled, "are you spying on me?!" he asked.

Allat spit out some blood and huffed, "no, I'm not..." he whispered.

"Are you spying for the Shah?!" the emperor asked again and when Allat was not quick enough to respond he raised the whip in the air again.

Allat's eyes widened, "wait!" he said and Ming Tien lowered his arm. "I was not spying for anybody." He said breathlessly and the emperor raised an eyebrow at him curiously and distrustfully.

"Then what are you doing in Qin? I have not allowed any Assyrians and  _certainly_  not any Greeks to enter my land," he said and slapped the whip's handle on his palm.

Allat watched the emperor continue to smack the whip in his hand, desperate to use it again. He frowned up at the emperor. "I wanted to seek out some territory to assign my military to guard the Silk trade route." He admitted, though he told no one this, not even Solan and definitely not Xena.

Ming Tien smirked, "illegally trying to guard my Silk Road...how interesting. You should have looked in your own backyard, Assyrian."

Allat frowned, not sure what he meant by that. The emperor continued, "the Empress of Greece has control of the western end of the Silk Road, but you would have already known that, wouldn't you?" he leaned down coming within inches of Allat's face. "But you wanted more, didn't you?" he chuckled and Allat stared into the dark eyes before him. "Going behind the Empress's back, hm?"

The king shook his head, "I would never betray Xena. She is a dear friend to me."

Ming Tien stood up and nodded as he began to pace in front of Allat. "The Silk Road runs through Persia, so why not ask the Shah to intervene?" he smiled down at him. "Oh that's right, because Qin is not allies with Persia. The only reason I allowed Xena to have the western end of the Silk Road was to keep her out of Qin. She became greedy and wanted more and without hesitation...I gave her a portion of the Silk trade to please her and to keep her far away from my empire because she would have overthrown me as well!"

"Perhaps she will if you don't release me and Solan..." Allat smiled up at the emperor.

Ming Tien frowned as his eyes grew with fury. "She would become the most powerful ruler in all of history. I cannot and will not allow that to happen!" he took the whip and slashed Allat's chest once more. The Assyrian moaned in agony.

"W...where is my friend?" Allat asked breathing heavily. He gave up and trying to yank his arms from the chains a long time ago and was tired of being whipped over and over again.

The emperor smirked, "he is being taken care of. The Scythians gave him quite a beating," he chuckled.

"When will I see him?" Allat asked, fearful that he might get another lashing.

"You won't."

The emperor's advisor came rushing in, "your highness, a message from King Nimrood," he bowed his head and lifted the scroll up. Ming Tien snatched the scroll from his hands and opened it.

He smiled, "it is clear to me that the Scythian king does not want to listen to reason." He crumbled up the parchment and threw it at his adviser. "Burn the Scythian campgrounds down." He demanded and the advisor quickly ran out of the room to alert the army of the emperor's decision.

* * *

_Ujjain, Scythia_

The young King Nimrood, took the throne of Scythia after his uncle died three years ago. At the age of twenty eight he was one of the youngest kings in Scythian history and he knew the Persian King was two years younger than him and ruled the country since he was sixteen, though became king at the age of ten, a year after his father's death. He had good relations with the Persians when Phraates was in charge but now that Samuel was king, things began to change and for the worse.

King Nimrood's advisor came in with a letter, "a message from the King of Persia, your majesty," he bowed his head.

The king turned with a smile, "ah the Persian king..." he took the letter and read over it then immediately became furious. "He demands I send back all the money and weapons?!" he growled and threw down his crown on the floor. "What does his vizier have to say about this?!" he yelled at his advisor.

The man blinked, "his vizier is dead, your highness. He has appointed a new vizier," he said calmly.

"A  _new_  vizier? Who is it? Ibn Farabi? Ibn Jaseem? Who?" he demanded to know.

His advisor exhaled slowly, "the Princess of Greece, your highness..." he whispered and King Nimrood's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"He appointed his  _wife_?" he asked then began laughing. "Persia will be doomed now! A woman in charge of politics?" he scoffed. "Persia is already in Hellfire!"

The advisor had no comment on the Persian king's wife appointed as the new grand vizier. "Sir, if you do not comply with his rules, he will attack us."

King Nimrood smiled deliciously. "Let him try."

"You are not worried about his army, your highness?" the advisor was fearful of the Persian army especially its archers. They were quite good and he had thousands of archers at his disposal. "The Greeks are friends with the Persians. They could join forces against you, sir."

The king waved his hand, "the Empress of Greece has never set a foot in Scythia. She is not a threat to me," he casually began walking to his throne and lounged to begin sipping on wine. "Tell the Persian King that I will be ready for him," he said and his advisor remained still. "What are you still here for? Go write the Persian  _Saiki_  back," he chuckled and the advisor walked away in a hurry.

**AN: Saiki: dog**


	44. Chapter 44

**AN: not too much action here, but it's very important. Some flashbacks of course. Good luck! ;)**

Chapter 44 – _Cherry Blossoms Part I_

Xena and Gabrielle rode through the harsh terrain of the outskirts of Qin and finally made it to the Himalayas after three days of traveling. They hardly stopped because Xena wanted to get to their destination faster. The winds were extremely violent and the snow fall blurred all roads and paths everywhere.

Gabrielle covered her lower half of her face with a thick scarf and tread beside Xena, squinting her eyes from the snow blizzard. Xena halted her horse and raised her hand for the Alps and archers to stop behind her. She jumped off the horse and lowered her scarf from her face. Gabrielle dismounted her horse as well and followed her.

"What are you looking for?" Gabrielle shouted in the midst of the snowstorm. Xena knelt down and picked up some blackened snow and rubbed it in between her fingers. She smelt the snow and frowned.

Standing up she looked around and saw smoke coming from the other side of the hill they were standing on. "Fire," she whispered and mounted her horse galloping beyond the hill by herself. Gabrielle groaned and got on her horse, already far behind Xena, the Alps and archers already.

When Xena arrived on the other side of the hill she saw an entire campground was burned to the ground, the smoke still lingering which meant that whoever did this, they were just here. Her eyes widened as she looked at the burnt campgrounds. Turning her head she saw Gabrielle galloping to meet up with her.

"This was the Scythian territory that Allat wrote about in his letter," Xena said and Gabrielle's jaw dropped, seeing the entire place scorched and disintegrated. There were a few dead Scythian soldiers lying on the snow, frozen to a crisp. The snow was already beginning to cover their slow-decaying bodies.

"It smells awful," Gabrielle cringed, covering her face with the scarf again. She could barely stand the smell and she had never smelt anything like it before.

Xena frowned and trotted down to the burned campground. "Burning flesh is always pleasant," she said sarcastically. She then saw a piece of a torn flag in the snow and lifted a curious eyebrow. She dismounted the horse and meandered through the thick snow and picked up the torn flag in her hands, examining the fabric and saw a design that she was definitely familiar with. "Ming Tien..." she growled.

She turned to Gabrielle raising the torn flag in her hand, "the Qin army was here. They must be trying to eliminate the Scythians in this area," she looked around once more at the ruins and fallen soldiers. "The Scythians must have gotten away before the Qin army was able to kill them all."

Gabrielle frowned then lowered the scarf from her face. "They knew they were coming?" she asked and Xena nodded. "Then where did Allat and Solan go?"

"They must have found a place to hide," Xena swiftly turned and went back to her horse. "We're moving forward, there is nothing here for us," she kicked the side of her horse and began riding off deeper into the mountains and snow.

* * *

A few hours of searching and so far they had found nothing. Xena was beginning to wonder if Gabrielle was right. Qin was very large and with all of this snow, it was hard to tell where they were. The snow drowned everything. She trotted along the path and stepped on something hard and halted her horse.

Frowning, she got off the horse and knelt down, shoveling the snow with her hands and saw a silver plate of armor. She kept digging, hoping that it was not Solan. Gabrielle frowned as she looked at her, trying to get to shovel the never ending snow off the ground. Xena grunted and finally pulled the body out of the snow and was relieved to see it was a dead Scythian, though it was miles away from the campground.

She looked to her right and saw a hand sticking up from beneath the snow. She grabbed her sword and shoveled the snow off the body. It was another dead Scythian, though he had a dagger sticking out the back of his head. Narrowing her eyes she flipped the body over and pulled out the icy dagger. Wiping the snow off she saw it was a Greek dagger and smiled.

"Gabrielle!" she yelled out with the dagger in her hands. Gabrielle came running to her breathlessly and shivering in the snow. "This is a Greek design. It must be Solan's," her grin widened. "They were here..." her eyes traveled around the area, "but why?" she frowned.

Gabrielle shook her head, not knowing either. "Maybe they were running from the Scythians?" she guessed.

Xena held the dagger and looked around the area. The dagger was planted in the man's head which meant that someone threw it from behind, without the Scythian knowing there was someone there. She eyed a group of large trees and walked over to them.

She touched the tree and scratched the bark with her fingernails. Pulling her fingers back she found dry old blood on her fingertips and rubbed them together, frowning deeply. She measured the distance from the tree and the dead Scythian soldier in the snow and nodded, affirming what happened.

Gabrielle stood at a distance, confused at what Xena was doing. Xena walked over to her, "either Solan or Allat was behind this tree and threw this dagger at the Scythian. Though since it's a Greek dagger, I am assuming it's Solan and Allat was fighting multiple Scythians." She looked at the blood on her fingers and lowered her eyes. "And Solan was hurt, but somehow they were able to get away..." she narrowed her eyes thinking of all the possibilities.

It never ceased to amaze Gabrielle that Xena was able to basically reenact entire fight scenes and events like this. She put a hand on her shoulder, "if they got away, where would they go? There's no place to hide in these mountains!" she huffed, "unless they buried themselves in the snow," she shook her head thinking that was a bad idea and definitely stupid too. Allat and Solan would never do something like that or they'd die.

Xena sighed, looking around the area and saw the snow begin to fall heavier by the second. "Wherever they area now, they are far from here." She was unable to track them because the snow simply covered all foot tracks and any trace of human life, unless they were unlucky enough to be dying in the snow banks.

One of the Alps rode up to Xena and looked worried. "Empress, we need to find shelter for tonight. We won't be able to travel in the next few hours. We are losing light and there's too much snow!"

Xena groaned, "fine, we will stop somewhere, but not here," she didn't think this was the best place to camp out at. They would need to find shelter in the forest, which wasn't too far from them. She pointed to the large trees, "we will camp there!" she pulled the scarf over her face and walked back to her horse, grabbing Gabrielle's hand to aid her in the two feet of snow they were slowly sinking in.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Eve was able to gather all of Jazar's old documents and study them over the course of three days. She memorized a lot of the laws in Persia and thought some of them were ridiculous. She had to meet with Samuel in the next few minutes to discuss the problem with King Nimrood. Awhile ago, early in the morning she was bombarded with paperwork and she spent all morning reading and signing papers that she would later discuss with Samuel.

She walked into his office and saw one of the councilmen speaking with him. Samuel smiled and stood up from his chair, "ah, so you've had time to look over the paperwork?" he hoped.

She nodded, "yes and Samuel –" he raised an eyebrow at her and then she saw the odd look on the councilman's face and then it donned on her. "I mean, your highness," she smiled nervously then walked to his desk and slammed a pile of parchment on his desk. "We need to discuss these laws. They're outrageous." She had almost forgotten now that she was his advisor that she could not address him with his informal name around other people anymore, unless they were alone and off the clock.

He chuckled anxiously, "well, we will have plenty of time to look over the laws but for now, I'd like to focus on the Scythian king..." he eyed her cautiously and saw she did not approve.

"There's law that if someone is caught stealing food, he gets his hands chopped off!" she blurted out and he frowned at her.

Samuel folded his arms, "Eve..." he addressed her more personally, "now isn't the time. I'm aware that we need to reform the old laws of my father, but for now I just want to talk about King Nimrood. Alright?" he said hoping that she'd comply and she sighed and relented. "Good, now we can get started," he sat down and she pulled out a piece of parchment from the stack and pushed it towards him.

"I was given this by the messenger earlier this morning," she said, "King Nimrood refuses to send the money and weapons back that he stole from you."

He tapped his fingers on the desk as he flipped the pages over reading over the lengthy document obviously written by the king's advisor and not him. "I see." He pushed the parchment aside, "what does he say then? He wants war?"

Eve frowned, "I'm assuming so. He said," and quoted, "he's ready for you."

"And do you believe that it is a good idea that we go ahead and attack the Scythians?" he asked her and his councilman was quite surprised he was asking her such a thing.

She blinked, "well I...I think that we should wait for him to attack us. If he doesn't then we pull back from the threat. If he is waiting for you to attack then he obviously isn't man enough to fight." She said and there was a long moment of silence.

Samuel smiled, "she's good, right?" he looked up to his councilman and he simply stayed quiet with a small grin. Eve smiled, glad that he took her advice and listened to her. "But we all know that young kings are arrogant and will want to attack. I know that Nimrood's uncle was in charge before he died three years ago. His uncle was very lazy and never kept up with relations with Persia or Assyria."

Eve held her hand up to interrupt, "that is true but Assyria is right under Scythia. He might attack there first since it is a smaller kingdom. He knows that you and the Assyrian King are friends and will want to get under your skin and what better way to do that than attack your allies?" she smiled.

Samuel nodded, "good point. And he doesn't know that Allat is not in his kingdom right now. It would be the perfect plan."

"We..." she looked at him and cleared her throat, " _you_ , should post some of the military on Assyria's borders just in case."

"How many men?" he asked her.

"Maybe two hundred," she offered and his eyes widened, "or maybe we can use some of my mother's men in Delphi to cover the borders of Assyria," she suggested and he nodded. "Since my mother isn't here, and neither is Solan...I am in charge of Greece now, so I can give you permission to use the army," she grinned.

Samuel sighed not sure if it was a good idea or not but he'd rather have all of his men stationed here in Persia if they were needed and two hundred was a lot of men. But two hundred of Xena's men was nothing. She had hundreds of thousands of soldiers at her disposal and using two hundred, wouldn't even make a difference or not.

He chuckled staring at her, "now I don't know whether to call you my vizier or Princess of Greece..."

She grinned, "why not both?" she teased. She sighed and folded her hands, "so am I done for now?" she asked with her big blue eyes. He smiled at her and stood up.

"For now yes, but I have a meeting in court in a few hours. I need you there," he told her seriously and she nodded her head up at him.

"I will be there," she smiled then touched his shoulder, "but I have to go take of Luca and Layla. I left them with Kosem all morning and promised I'd relieve her once I was finished here."

He sighed heavily, "alright so I will see you this afternoon for the meeting?" he asked and she smiled leaning upward to kiss him then eyed the councilman watching them both. She nervously pulled away and pat his arm instead then left the room.

The councilman smirked, "she is a good vizier, my king," he said, complimenting the princess. "She is very knowledgeable. I commend on you on appointing the princess," he bowed his head curtly.

Samuel smiled and went over to the stack of papers. "Which reminds me. I want you to look over all of these laws and pick out the ones that seem absurd and reform them."

"Of course your majesty. I will get right on it," he picked up the stack of papers and left the room.

* * *

Mehmed, the Persian general was walking down the hall and saw Eve coming right for him. He smiled at her and bowed his head. "Vizier," he greeted her and she smiled at him and kept walking. "Oh princess," he called out and she halted then turned to the general, "I have news about your mother in Qin," he said and she frowned, worry overcoming her. "I am about to tell the king, I assume you would be there...?"

She sighed and thought that her work was done until the meeting and she really needed to see her children, but it seemed it would have to wait. She began to think of her mother and when she was a child herself. Her mother was always busy, running around with Gabrielle with meetings and signing documents. She was glad that she never had to do that, but now that she was in the midst of the Persian court, she too had a lot of responsibility, just as much as her mother did as empress and still does. Being an empress is hard work, she was beginning to realize. And her job as a vizier was even harder that she was a mother as well.

"I will be there, just give me a few minutes," she went running down the hall and he raised an eyebrow at her then went to see the king.

She burst into the children's room and saw Kosem was playing with the two on the floor. She smiled at them both and came to Layla and kissed her forehead. "I have to go to a meeting with the general and Samuel right now so I can't stay."

Kosem smiled softly, "it's alright princess. I understand how these things are and that is why I am here."

Eve kissed Luca's head and sighed standing up getting ready to leave. "I'm really sorry," she pleaded then left the room in a hurry.

As Eve was briskly walking down the hallway she bumped into Hatima and a vase smashed on the floor. Eve gasped and covered her mouth. "Hatima, I'm so sorry," she bent down and began picking up the broken pieces.

Hatima smiled and lifted Eve off the floor. "It's alright," she saw the princess looked very flustered. "You're in quite a hurry. Something wrong?" she frowned.

Eve rubbed her forehead and sighed heavily, "no, nothing is wrong. I have to see Mehmed and Samuel right now. It's about Qin and my mother. I said I would be there and I'm already late."

Hatima nodded, knowing that feeling of not being able to be in two places at once. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Eve eyes lit up and she nodded, "yes there is something. Could you watch Layla and Luca for awhile?" she hoped the queen would say yes. "It's only for a few hours until I finish then –"

The Persian queen smiled, "of course I will watch them, Eve."

"Great! Thank you!" she smiled and then began running off to Samuel's office.

* * *

A few moments later Eve burst into the office breathing heavily. Samuel and Mehmed looked to her and she smiled nervously closing the door behind her. "I'm here," she said and brushed her hair behind her ears ready to hear the news that Mehmed brought.

Samuel smirked, "how are the children?" he asked informally.

She walked to the desk and her breathing began to slow down a bit. "They're with your mother right now." She turned to Mehmed, "so what is the news of my mother?" she asked, dying to know.

Mehmed sighed and held the letter in his hands, "they found the Scythian campgrounds in the Himalayas and it was completely destroyed. Burned down by the Qin army. Some Scythians did not make it though Xena believes that most of them escaped."

Eve frowned, "what about Solan and Allat?"

He shook his head, "sorry princess, she did not mention them in her message."

Samuel tapped his fingers then looked to Eve, "I want you to write a letter to your men in Delphi and tell them to secure the Assyrian border immediately."

She nodded and grabbed some parchment to begin writing at a smaller desk in a corner. "If the Scythians escaped then that means that they will send word to their king about the Qin army..." Samuel groaned just thinking about it.

"Are we expecting an attack, afendim?" Mehmed asked.

"I'm counting on it," Samuel broke the quill in half because of his frustration at the Scythian king's intrusion not just in Persia but in Qin too.

* * *

_Xianyang, Qin_

Ming Tien came to check up on Solan as he was still recovering from his injury. He kept him in a very nice room off on the east wing of the palace. Solan was sitting by the window writing a letter and the emperor walked in.

"Writing letters to your mother?" he smiled and Solan's eyes widened and he tucked the parchment in his vest. "She will not find you."

Solan frowned, "yes she will and she'll kill you," he smiled at the emperor.

Ming Tien sighed, "Solan, your mother is many things but she is not a magician. She cannot appear in different places at different times," he chuckled, "although it wouldn't surprise me if she could..."

"You underestimate her," Solan stood up folding his arms, looking into the emperor's dark eyes.

He grinned, "you're wrong Solan. I never underestimate Xena. She is a great warrior and queen of Greece. She is a remarkable woman," he smirked. He took another step closer to Solan. "How old is she now? She was old enough to be my mother when I first met her," he chuckled lightly. "I could only imagine what she looks like now!"

Solan bit his tongue and looked up at the ceiling, not daring to look at his annoying face, fearing that he might punch the emperor in the jaw.

Ming Tien smiled circling around Solan. "Does she still have that long black hair of hers or is it gray now?" he teased. Solan remained quiet and he sighed deeply. "It's fine, you don't have to talk to me about your mother, Solan."

Solan frowned now facing the emperor again. "She would wipe you out with one clean sweep," he smirked.

Ming Tien's eyes widened with fury and he slapped Solan across the face. He snapped to his guards, "take the Greek Prince down below to join his friend!" he demanded and the guards grabbed Solan by his arms and drug him out of the room. He frowned and folded his arms, "he has his mother's smart remarks," he grumbled.

* * *

The guards brought Solan to a lonely cell and unlocked the door. Solan lifted his head and saw Allat strapped to a wheel and had bruises all over his body and lashes on his face. "Allat!" he cried and tried to break free from the men's hold.

Allat smiled finally able to see Solan for the first time since they arrived more than a week ago. "Brother," he breathed softly, "what took you so long?" he smirked, joking a bit.

The men threw Solan against the wall and chained his wrists and ankles to the wall. He grunted and spat in the man's face. "Samuel is going to send help for us, I promise you!"

Allat nodded, "I hope so, my friend." He sighed and felt extremely exhausted.

"Gods, what did they do to you?!" Solan asked barely able to look at his face and beaten body.

Allat spat some blood on the floor, "I spoke," he smiled and Solan frowned then saw Ming Tien enter the room.

"You did this to my friend!" he yelled and Ming Tien smiled.

"Why yes, yes I did. He's quite a talker but I'm sure he's learning," he looked to the Assyrian king, "aren't you?" he chided. "I am showing him the same respect that was shown to your mother long ago," he smiled deviously.

Solan's eyes widened and could barely fathom his mother being tortured in such a way like that. He felt sick just thinking about it and seeing Allat like that was making him nauseous. "You release him! He has done nothing wrong..."

Ming Tien chuckled and came to Solan's face, inches away. "Every time you speak, I will torture your friend." He snapped his fingers and frowned deeply.

His guards grabbed the wheel and turned it clockwise and Allat sighed, now being turned upside down. The blood began rushing to his head and he saw Solan's worried face. Solan pulled his arms from the chains and saw a whip in the guard's hands. "No!" Solan cried out and Ming Tien smiled.

"No talking, remember?" he put a finger to his mouth and smiled. The guard whipped Allat's bare chest and he groaned, trying to hold back as much as possible.

"don't listen to him, Solan. He would have tortured me anyway!" Allat said and was whipped again. He winced in pain and bit his tongue, refusing to yell aloud to excite the emperor.

Ming Tien frowned, "quiet you!" he spat at the Assyrian then turned to Solan. "I will come back in a few days to see how everything is," he smiled and pat Solan's cheek. Solan snatched his face away and growled at the emperor.

As soon as the emperor left Solan looked at his friend solemnly. "Allat, I'm so sorry they did this to you," he whispered.

Allat smiled, "do not worry about me. I'm just glad you are alright." He sighed, "I was afraid that they hurt you," he said barely above a whisper.

Solan smiled weakly, "no luckily they didn't." he stood in silence and yanked on the chains grunting softly to himself.

"The emperor has a bitter heart for your mother," Allat chuckled.

Solan nodded, "she did mention that she's been here before but I don't know why she would ever want to come to this awful place anyway," he rolled his eyes and banged his head against the wall in frustration.

Allat looked to the guards who were posted at the doors being still as boards. "I assume she came with your father," he whispered.

Solan lifted his head and sighed thinking of his father that he barely knew and only met him for a short time. "My father..." he shook his head.

"He was a good man, Solan. He loved you a lot, trust me," Allat said sincerely.

"If he loved me so much why did he give me away?" Solan frowned, getting angry at his childhood. He lived with Romans through his childhood and part of his teen years until he moved in with Xena when he was fifteen.

Allat sighed, "he was doing it for your own protection. You can't blame him for wanting to protect you, Solan. And your mother took care of you even when you were far from her."

Solan lifted his eyebrow, "what are you talking about?"

The Assyrian smiled, "she sent you presents for your birthday every year and asked to keep it a secret. Your father also watched you from afar. So I promise you, they cared about you more than you know."

"I didn't know that," Solan mumbled. "How do you know all of this?" he was definitely curious.

Allat smirked, "I've been friends with your mother awhile, Solan, plus my mother was a good ally of hers. I know a lot of things," he winked.

Solan smiled nodding his head, "your mother was a good woman."

"She was," Allat smiled thinking of his mother and wished she were still alive to see the prosperity of the kingdom of Palmyra now, though he had a feeling she was always watching. If she were still alive, there would be no doubt they she would find him and Solan trapped here in Qin.

"And you're a good friend, I love you," Solan said with a sad smile. He couldn't bare being trapped here but at least he wasn't alone.

Allat smiled, "me too, brother."

* * *

_Outskirts of Qin_

A few more days passed by and so far they had found nothing that lead them to Solan and Allat's whereabouts. The Alps were on a scouting mission to see if they could find any more hints or clues to point them in the right direction.

The snowstorms had subsided for now but it was very dark now and the time of day wasn't even that late. It was probably still sunny in Persia right now. The mountains made this area darker earlier than other places which put a hindrance on their expedition.

Gabrielle came inside the tent with a few dry tree branches. She threw them down on the ground and brushed the snow off her cloak. "These are the only dry ones I found..." she sighed heavily.

Xena picked up the branches and they were extremely thin and long. She raised her eyebrow up at Gabrielle. "This is why I never send you to get firewood..." she muttered and broke the pieces and gently placed them in the fire in the center of the tent.

"I tried alright?" Gabrielle sat down beside Xena and leaned back against a few animal skins from their horses. She wrapped the cloak tightly around her cold body and scooted closer to Xena for warmth. "I'm surprised we haven't encountered any soldiers from the Qin army."

Xena smirked, "The emperor's soldiers are good at hiding, Gabrielle. I have no doubt that they retreated back to Xianyang," she narrowed her eyes and poked at the fire. "Although I have a feeling we are being watched," she whispered.

Gabrielle let out a loud sigh of relief. "Oh good, I thought it was just me!" she smiled, relieved to hear that Xena felt the same about her. "Do you think they're following us because they know who you are?"

Xena shrugged a shoulder, "the army doesn't know what I look like, but the emperor does. If they wanted to attack us, they would have already," she smiled. "We are seen as not threatening..."

"How do you know that they won't attack us? You said it yourself that Qin is a dangerous place and doesn't like Greek travelers..."

"Because I trained the Qin army," Xena said bluntly and Gabrielle blinked. She turned to look at her shocked friend's expression. "Yes, I trained them, not once, but twice."

Gabrielle frowned and sat up scooting closer to the fire and stared at Xena. "Excuse me,  _what_? Xena, you need to tell me what you did in Qin. We could be walking into something far more dangerous than I thought!" she folded her arms, feeling a bit irritated that she was once again, left in the dark.

Xena sighed heavily, "if I tell you what I did, you promise that you will not think any less of me?" she asked sincerely afraid of Gabrielle's reaction.

The blonde lowered her eyes and grabbed Xena's hand in her own. "I have never thought less of you because of your past actions, Xena." She smiled up at her, "judge free zone!"

The empress smirked weakly, "well you already know some of it. Borias and I traveled to Qin to create peace between the kingdom of Lao and the south kingdoms." She sighed, "and then I destroyed the entire army..."

* * *

_Qin –Thirty Six Years Ago_

Borias and Xena arrived in deserts of Qin during the spring. They arrival was not expected by the Qin army that surrounded the desert, guarding the borders of Persia and Qin. A horde of the Qin army came charging at them and Xena, of course, did not want to seem weak in front of the people of Qin.

She took Borias' men in her control and slaughtered every single person that came her way. Riding on her horse she wore a scarf covering her face and smiled at the man running away, trying to escape. All of his comrades were dead or dying at the moment. She kicked her horse and drew her scimitar then began riding towards the escapee.

Borias took his sword out of a man's chest and turned around to see Xena charging at a man who was unarmed and running for his life. "Xena!" he growled and began riding after her.

Xena smiled and was riding alongside of the man running. He glanced up at her and his eyes grew in fear. He tripped on a rock and tumbled forward. He saw Xena riding after him still and he cried out, crawling away from her. Her horse skid to a stop and she wielded her sword back ready to kill him.

Just as she was about to kill the Qin soldier, Borias rode in and stood in between Xena and the unarmed soldier. He put his hand up, "what are you doing?!" he growled. "You will kill every single one of them?" he yelled at her.

Xena took off the scarf around her head and her long unruly hair came tumbling down her back. "Get out of the way, Borias!" she yelled and then saw the man on his knees pleading for his life. She smirked down at the soldier, "he's begging for his life. Look how pathetic they are!" she sneered.

"You've killed enough men, Xena. There is no one left to kill," he circled around her and she smiled deviously at him, challenging his authority over her.

She peered down at the man groveling at her and grabbed her pant leg. She kicked him off and growled. "Go run back to your master!" she yelled and the man nodded his head then began running off into the desert. She smiled turning her attention back to Borias, "I want all the dead bodies."

"For what?" he asked, raising a curious brow at her.

"Just give them to me," she smiled then trotted off to meet with the rest of her men.

* * *

Later Xena's men gathered all of the fallen Qin soldiers like she asked. She decapitated them all and put their heads on pikes. She smiled and stuck a pike into the ground with the last man she killed in the desert. "Qin has a wall..." she said softly and touched the dead soldier's long dark braid, "now I have a wall too," she smiled and trotted off on her horse back to their campsite not too far from this area.

She came into the tent and discarded her headdress and saw Borias sitting down counting gold with one of his men. "There won't be anyone to bother us anymore," she smiled then looked at the man sitting beside Borias. "Get up," she demanded and he quickly got up and she sat down beside Borias.

"The leader of Lao is coming to meet with us about an opportunity," he smiled at her and she frowned, not liking the sound of meeting someone especially if they were going to make a deal.

"Why would we meet with the leader of Lao?" she asked and picked up a few pieces of gold and he slapped her hand away from the gold pile. She snapped at him and he nudged her shoulder. "What kind of opportunity?" she asked, a bit intrigued.

He slid the gold pieces into a large bag and stared at her seriously, "the southern kingdoms of Qin are attacking Lao. I want to help Lao in the war effort," he smirked.

Xena stood up, irate at this idea. "No!" she yelled and he stood up, towering over her. "We did not travel all this way to help two kingdoms make peace with each other!" he placed his hands on her shoulders, gripping her tightly.

"Xena!" his grip tightened and she snarled at him. "It would benefit us both. We help Lao secure its kingdom and we get half the gold," he smiled.

Xena pushed him away violently and he grunted, smoothing his vest out. "We aren't going to all the work and get paid half. Are you insane?!" she yelled loudly.

"No,  _you're_  insane!" he threw his hands in the air, frustrated at her incompliance with this great opportunity. "We are supposed to work together..." he smiled and brought her closer to him, staring down at her angry blue eyes.

She smiled up at him and touched his hair softly, "if we are supposed to work together...then how come you didn't tell me about this deal!" she tugged his hair and he grunted pulling away from her.

He pointed at her, "you are impossible!" he groaned. She smirked, shrugging a shoulder and nonchalantly sat down. "We are going to meet with the Emperor of Lao, whether you agree with me or not," he said and she ignored him. He walked over to her and hoisted her up by her arm and she growled at him. "Do you understand?" he said lowly.

Xena nodded her head, "I  _understand_..." she grumbled and snatched her arm from his hold.

* * *

The following day a caravan arrived to the campsite. Borias was waiting for the emperor for quite some time and now that he finally came. He twiddled his thumbs eagerly waiting for the emperor to show his face. Xena walked out of the tent and frowned, staring at the expensive caravan. She made her way over and nudged Borias' shoulder gently.

He frowned at her then turned back to see the emperor of Lao exiting the caravan. When the imminent guest lifted his face, Borias' eyes widened seeing that it was definitely not a man, but a woman. Xena's eyes grew as she saw the petite woman before her step out of the caravan. She was not expecting a woman to appear neither her to be a representative of Lao.

"You are Borias, aren't you?" she smiled and he bowed his head curtly, showing his respects. "I'm Lao Ma," she turned her head and noticed Xena standing beside him. Her eyes narrowed and she smiled softly, "and you must be Xena," she said automatically knowing everything about her.

Xena smiled, "you've heard of me before?" she asked, folding her arms arrogantly.

Lao Ma kept staring at her and she nodded, "yes, I've heard many things about you, Xena. It's very nice to meet you."

Borias elbowed Xena in her ribs and she snarled at him. Turning her attention back to Lao Ma she tightly grinned and bowed her head slowly.

That evening Lao Ma was invited into a large yurt to discuss the warring kingdoms. Xena sat across from Borias and Lao Ma. She listened to them intently and Borias occasionally glanced over at her, quite surprised that she was very quiet throughout this entire evening. She had no remarks or smart comments at all, which made him think that Xena was up to something.

"What do you think, Xena?" Lao Ma asked.

Xena was touching the tip of her dagger and she was unaware that she was being brought into the conversation. She smiled at the woman, "what do I think about what?"

"I want to make a peace alliance with the southern kingdoms and Borias offered to help. I assume that you are...also part of the deal?" Lao Ma said with a straight face and such elegance.

Xena smiled nodding her head slowly. "Part of the deal..." she looked at the dagger seeing her reflection in the blade. Lifting her head at Lao Ma she smiled enticingly, "I can escort your army to the south to talk of a peace treaty," she said and Borias' eyes widened, surprised to hear that come from her mouth.

* * *

Gabrielle listened to Xena's story then she stopped, there was a long pause and she nudged Xena's arm. "And then what happened?" she asked.

Xena sighed, lowering her head in shame. "I lied. I told Lao Ma I was going to conduct an alliance, but I didn't. She trusted me and I lied to her. I lied to both of them."

"Why did you lie?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena lifted her head and frowned, not sure how to answer that. She had never been asked such a question in her life. She had never thought about her past actions in that way. In truth, she didn't know why she lied. She scratched her arm anxiously and Gabrielle grabbed her hand. "Gabrielle, I don't have an answer for that."

"I think you do," Gabrielle said, "I think you were acting selfishly and you were greedy. You got satisfaction from killing all those people. You enjoyed the rage and hatred. You liked seeing other people afraid of you. You basked in it, almost like it was a holy glory –"

"Okay Gabrielle I get it..." Xena said, feeling a bit insulted.

Gabrielle continued, "you wanted people to fear you, you desired it. You gave in instead of embracing the light, you chose the darkness. You chose to hide for many years because it would one day, make you powerful."

"Gabrielle!" Xena yelled and Gabrielle halted and became very quiet. Xena felt her blood boiling and she let out a sharp exhale. "Is there a point to this rant or are you just going to keep insulting me?" she frowned staring at her blonde consort.

Gabrielle smiled, "I'm not trying to insult you, Xena. Don't you see?" she grabbed her hand tightly, "you're still attached to your old self. That Xena is dead –she's gone."

"If she's dead then why does she still haunt my dreams?" Xena said in a low voice, her eyes filling with tears.

"Because you won't forgive yourself. Everyone deserves a second chance, Xena. Even you."

Xena shook her head, "not me Gabrielle. I don't deserve that kind of forgiveness."

Gabrielle gripped Xena's hand tighter. "Who said that?" she turned Xena's chin towards her. "That's your old self telling you that, Xena. I believe that if someone is truly sorry for all the crimes they committed, they deserve forgiveness and another chance. And that someone is  _you_ ," she smiled and kissed her hand.

"H...how do I forgive myself?" Xena asked sincerely and a single tear streamed down her face.

"You can start by...forgiving your younger self. She has wronged so many people. She deserves forgiveness too," Gabrielle wiped the tear from Xena's cheek.

Xena sighed, "I haven't seen that person in twenty five years. I locked her away a long time ago."

"Then let her go," the blonde said seriously yet compassionately. "She doesn't deserve to be locked away. She's a ghost now –a figment of your imagination. You're allowing her to haunt you, so just let her go and forgive her."

Xena smiled wiping her face, hiding from Gabrielle. "You and your philosophical bullshit," she muttered.

Gabrielle grinned brightly, "I have good philosophical advice, whether you believe it's bullshit or not!" she teased chuckling softly. "Promise me, you will forgive yourself." She became serious once again.

The empress sighed heavily, "I promise Gabrielle. What would I do without you?" she smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Still be a tyrannical empress?" Gabrielle jested. "You didn't need me to find the light in your dark heart Xena, you did that on your own."

"You're wrong, Gabrielle. I did need you –I  _do_  need you. You saved me and continue to point me in the right direction when I have doubts about my judgment. You  _are_  my light." She stared into those honest green eyes. She placed her hand on Gabrielle's shoulder. "And promise me you will be with me until the end. We are going into treacherous territory. I don't want my judgment to get in the way."

Gabrielle nodded, "I will always be here for you, Xena. Don't forget that!" she smiled up at her. "I will be with you the entire time. We are on a mission to save Allat and Solan. That is all and we will return with both of them."

"I just wish...I knew where they were!" Xena grumbled. Gabrielle sighed thinking that was definitely a problem as well. They had been searching nonstop for two weeks now and found nothing. She only hoped that they were both safe and out of harm's way.

Suddenly, a subtle gust of wind entered the tent and blew out the fire in the tent. Gabrielle covered her face from the embers and Xena's eyes grew not in fear, but from the unknowing. She shivered feeling as if someone placed a hand on her and passed right through her body. Closing her eyes she heard a whisper of a voice in the wind and as quickly as the wind came rushing in, it left just as quickly.

Xena opened her eyes and looked down in her hand and saw a cherry blossom flower resting in her palm. She picked up the small flower and smiled softly at the lonely flower.

Gabrielle coughed and waved the smoke out of her face. "By the gods what was that?!" she looked at Xena whom was examining a flower in her hand. "Is that a cherry blossom?" she asked, a bit confused to see that flower in the middle of this awful winter. It definitely was not the season for those flowers to bloom at all.

"I know where they are," Xena said with her smile growing wider and wider. "They're in Xianyang in the Kingdom of Qin."

Gabrielle was confused and scratched her head. "And how do you know that?" she wondered curiously.

Xena looked down at the cherry blossom again. "Someone told me," a warm smile came to her lips. She got up and left the tent and looked out at the dark sky above her. A tree in front of the tent she saw a lonely cherry blossom gently swaying in the wind and she smiled, picking the flower off the branch.

A gust of wind came by and her hair blew violently in the wind and the cherry blossom flew off into the sky, traveling east, allowing the wind to guide its path.

Gabrielle exited the tent and saw Xena standing outside in the snow by herself. She approached her slowly and touched her shoulder. "Who told you?" she whispered.

"A friend," Xena smiled folding her arms watching the flower drift off higher into the sky.  _Thank you, Lao Ma. Maybe one day you will forgive me too._


	45. Chapter 45

**AN: trouble in Persia and Qin.**

Chapter 45 –Cherry Blossoms Part II

_Two Months Later_

_Ujjain, Scythia_

King Nimrood read over the letter that was sent by Samuel's vizier, his wife, of course. As he read over it he increasingly became angry and more infuriated. He crumbled up the parchment and threw it in the fireplace then let out a loud yell of frustration. His advisor cringed as he stood at a fair distance from his king.

"Does that Persian think he can just walk all over me?" Nimrood growled and began pacing back and forth in front of the roaring fire. "He is dead. I will kill him, I will kill them all!" he threw his wine glass at the wall and it splattered all over a painting of his late father. He turned to his advisor, "Hajaz, what do think I should do?" he sighed and sat down in his chair pouring a fresh glass of wine for himself. "That wife of his has the entire border of Assyria and Persia guarded. I know they are Greek soldiers," he chuckled sipping his wine.

Hajaz cleared his throat, "perhaps you have underestimated the young Persian King and his wife, sir." He saw the king give him a glare. "The Greek empress's military is very skilled in combat, sir. It would be best not to attack the borders."

Nimrood smiled and tapped the armrests of his chair. "I still have men inside Persia, right?" Hajaz nodded, affirming his question. "We don't need to attack from the outside...when we can attack from the inside..." he swirled his wine with an eerie smile.

"What do you propose?" Hajaz asked, almost afraid to know.

"Something small, so small that nobody would suspect it..." Nimrood stood up and downed his wine quickly. "Poison, Hajaz. We shall poison the king's wine supply," he smirked and Hajaz lowered his eyes. "They will drop like flies."

Hajaz nodded, "of course sir, a brilliant idea." He lifted his head, "what about the Qin army? They have driven out our scouts from the mountains."

Nimrood frowned, "forget Qin!" he yelled. "I want you to inform my spies in Persia and tell them the plan. It needs to be acted on immediately. I want to wipe out the entire Phraatarian line."

"Even the king's children?" Hajaz smiled and Nimrood's eyes grew hearing that news.

"The Persian saiki has children?" he grinned deviously. "I will make sure to wipe out his wife first so they can't produce any more Persian heirs." He scoffed, "is he using his wife as a baby machine like his dear father did?" he chuckled softly.

Hajaz smiled softly at the young king, "as far as I know, they have two children –a shahazad and shahazade."

Nimrood nodded, "of course he does," he poured another glass and looked at the smashed wine glass and ruined painting. "Have someone clean this up would you?" he sipped the wine and walked to the door to his bedroom. "Speaking of children, I need to check on my own wife," he winked and left the room.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Eve was sitting on her bed with Luca and Layla crawling on her bed and she smiled at them both. "Do you two know what today is?" she sweetly asked and they ignored her, playing with the tassels on her pillows. "It's your birthday!" she grinned and picked up Layla and set her in her lap.

Kosem entered the room with a box and smiled seeing the twins happily playing on the princess's bed. "A package for you, your highness," she set the box down and Eve frowned, looking at the neatly wrapped box.

"Who is it from?" Eve asked picking up the box and examining it.

"From Athens, your highness," Kosem bowed her head and sat on the edge of the bed, holding Luca in her lap.

Eve pursed her lips and opened the box and took the wrapping out from inside. She saw two gold and white outfits both for Luca and Layla. She smiled taking the dress out and held it up in the light. "My mother must have had these made before she came here," she grinned and showed her daughter. "Look what your grandma got for you." Layla smiled and grabbed the fabric looking at the sparkly gold thread.

"They are beautiful, princess," Kosem smiled looking at the outfits that Xena sent.

"Please stop calling me that. Eve is fine," she said and the maid nodded. "You are my friend, not my servant," she smiled.

Samuel knocked on the door frame and saw Eve sitting with the children. He smiled and let himself in. he walked toward the bed and saw two outfits spread out in front of them all. "These are very nice, where are they from?"

Eve smiled, "my mother sent them for the children." He nodded and picked up the dress for Layla examining the fabric.

"Egyptian cotton," he observed. "Eve, I need your help. King Nimrood hasn't tried to attack our borders. I want to organize a meeting with him and I'd like to send you as an emissary."

Eve's eyes grew in shock. "Me? Why me?" she asked.

He smiled and went to her side and grabbed her hand, "because you are good at negotiating and I trust you," he kissed her hand and she sighed. "Nimrood has a wife. They got married earlier this year. Her words are very influential and he listens to everything she says. Be careful of her."

Eve frowned staring up at him, "do you know her?"

Samuel averted his eyes and then he knelt down beside the bed and she stared at him worriedly. "Yes and you do too," he saw her face contort in confusion. "You remember Amelia when we were in Rome, right?"

She shook her head in disgust. " _She's_  his wife?" she frowned. "She was all over you when we saw her!"

"That's why I said to be careful. She's not a good person, Eve and obviously has poor taste in men," he joked. He held onto her hand, "so you will go?"

Eve relented, "yes I will go."

"Good," he smiled and stood up, "you're leaving tomorrow morning," he walked towards the door.

She gasped, "tomorrow?! But Samuel..."

He turned around, "we must find out what Nimrood is hiding. There is a reason he is not attacking," he paused. "By the way, Gabrielle sent a letter and said they know where Solan and Allat are," he smiled figuring that would lighten her mood.

Eve set Layla down on the bed and ran to him, "really? Where are they? They've been traveling for three months now."

"Xena believes that the Emperor of Qin has them. They're laying a low profile in Han," he replied.

This news was something that she had been waiting for. She hadn't received any word from her mother or Gabrielle for two months and finally there was something, a glimmer of hope.

* * *

_Han Territory_

Xena and Gabrielle hid behind a large brush that bordered the kingdom of Qin. Xena peeked through the leaves and saw the Qin army guarding the border. There must have been thirty soldiers from what she could see. Gabrielle was stringing her bow and nudged Xena.

"How many men?" she whispered.

Xena squinted her eyes and saw a couple more soldiers appear and some were talking to each other. "Thirty, maybe more." She hunkered down and leaned against a tree trunk watching Gabrielle string the bow. "The Alps are spread out in the snow banks close to the border. The archers will follow you once you give them the signal," she adjusted her gauntlets and Gabrielle nodded. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Gabrielle looked at her, "yes Xena. If you say Solan and Allat are in the hands of the Emperor, then I will do my best to save them just as you would."

Xena nodded, "I know, it's just dangerous and once we cross the border between Han and Qin, Ming Tien will know of our presence."

The blonde grinned, "I'm counting on it," she put the hood over her head and grabbed an arrow. Xena shook her head and gave her the oil and lit it on fire. Gabrielle dipped the arrow into the flaming oil and pulled the bowstring back as tightly as she could. She cringed, "do I have a clear shot?" she whispered.

Xena looked through the bushes again, "yes."

Gabrielle let go of the arrow and it shot into the chest of one soldier and he immediately burst into flames, crying out for help from his fellow soldiers. She smiled, "I should be an archer for the Persian army," she chuckled.

Xena unsheathed her sword, "the Persians aren't known for their aim, but for their speed," she pulled the hood over her head and saw a rain of arrows come in from the Persian archers from behind them hidden in the trees. Many of the soldiers were hit with multiple arrows in their legs and arms. She smiled seeing them flee and run towards the trees. "Just a little bit closer and we'll have them Gabrielle."

"I see the Alps!" Gabrielle saw the men riding in on their horses slaying the many soldiers coming to attack the forests. She turned to Xena, "now?"

"Now," Xena and Gabrielle both emerged from behind the bushes and Xena drove her blade through a soldier's chest. Gabrielle unsheathed her two short swords and began dueling with a Qin soldier.

One soldier's eyes widened as he saw Xena and he began stuttering as she slowly approached him with an eerie smile. He dropped his sword and took off running the opposite way. "The Empress of Greece is here!" he repeated many times to the guards on the border. "The Empress is here!" he shouted and the guards in the towers dropped what they were doing and began beating on the drums, the sound echoing in the mountains around them.

Gabrielle kicked a man down and stepped over him running towards Xena. Everyone seemed to be avoiding her and didn't even try to attack her as she walked through the sea of soldiers. The Alps were doing a fine job of chopping men into pieces while the Persian archers continued to shoot a sky of black arrows down on the soldiers.

"Why aren't they attacking you?" Gabrielle walked beside her, feeling like they were in a bubble –an untouchable bubble of safety.

"They are afraid of me," Xena noticed as the men deliberately avoided her and otherwise ran the other direction or straight into an Alps blade. She stepped over the border and smiled, "this is too easy," her eyes scanned the area and saw the men in the tower drumming away.

Gabrielle frowned, "I'll say," they walked over the border and then ropes came from the towers and wrapped around Gabrielle's and Xena's necks. Gabrielle grunted and tried to pry the rope off and Xena growled looking above and saw three men on each side of the left and right towers, pulling the ropes tighter around their throats. "Xe-enaa," she choked.

Xena sneered and cut the ropes with her sword and then cut Gabrielle's as well. "Bastards!" she rubbed her throat and coughed. "Run," she said lowly and they took off running deeper into the kingdom.

The head Alp grunted as he kicked a Qin soldier away from him then saw Xena and Gabrielle running passed the border of Han and into the Kingdom of Qin. His eyes widened and he whistled to his men, "protect the empress!" he shouted and pulled on his horse's reins to ride after them.

"Xena, this doesn't seem very smart!" Gabrielle said as they ran through the harsh terrain of snowy Qin, losing sight of the Alps and archers behind them. A horde of Qin soldiers on horseback came riding for them and Xena's eyes widened and they both skid to a stop.

"This way!" Xena yelled and both ran to the right through the rocky snowy terrain, under the turrets and then the archers above shot a few arrows at them. Xena ducked her head and looked behind her to see a trail of arrows following her footsteps. Gabrielle breathed heavily and ran beside her, and as she saw an arrow land in front of her she began to pick up the pace, leaving Xena slightly behind.

The Alps trailed behind Xena and Gabrielle to fight off the soldiers following them. The leader of the Alps grabbed a rope and climbed up the wall. The Qin archers frowned and pulled back their arrows. The Alp smiled and grabbed both of them and threw them over the twenty foot wall, head first.

He looked out beyond the terrain and saw Xena running behind Gabrielle and more arrows were being shot at them. His eyes scanned the wall and it was incredibly long, there were too many soldiers to fight, only a few Alps and archers were not enough to fend off the army of Qin.

Looking to his left he saw a swarm of soldiers running towards him with spears and then snapped to the right and saw even more soldiers. His eyes widened and then heard a whistle from below. He peered down and saw his buddy, Etrut, holding his horse below.

"Jump!" Etrut said and he grinned then jumped over the edge of the wall onto his steed. Etrut threw him a sword, "you left this back there," he said.

Teris, the leader of the Alps smiled at his friend, thanking him. He was no longer able to see Xena nor Gabrielle anymore. "We must follow the empress!" he rode on and the rest of the Alps were behind fighting the army as the two rode off together.

* * *

Gabrielle stopped and bent over, catching her breath. She turned around and saw Xena was far behind her. She felt a cramp in her side and tried to slow her breathing. Xena continued running and when she finally caught up to her she fell to her knees breathing deeply and coughed.

"Are you okay?" Gabrielle knelt down wrapping her arm around Xena.

Xena coughed and frowned, "I'm getting to old for this bullshit," she grunted and got up off the ground. She looked around and saw the wall stretched for miles like it was never ending. "This wall must be hundreds of miles long," she said in between breaths.

Gabrielle nodded, "they really wanted you dead."

"I told you, I'm not liked in Qin," she began walking ahead into the barren land. She put her hand over her eyes from the sun and tried to look ahead but couldn't see anything but snow. "The only way to the kingdom is back there."

"You want to go back  _there_?!" Gabrielle gaped.

Xena frowned and turned to her, "well we can't stay out here!" she snapped and began walking forward to see if there was another way around this wall, though she wasn't sure there was, unless they climbed it. This wall was hundreds of miles long and protected the kingdom from intruders and she was that intruder.

Together they walked in the snow and then Xena stepped on something hard underneath the snow. She frowned and side stepped the spot and her boot sunk into the soft snow. Figuring it was a rock she kept moving and the snow became deeper. Gabrielle felt like something was wrong here, it was very quiet and nobody was in sight. Her eyes traveled around the area and there was no cover, no trees, mountains or bushes to hid in, though she felt someone was watching.

"Xena, this isn't right," she said in a hushed tone.

Xena took another step and felt her boot hit something hard once more. She narrowed her eyes, "I think you're right Gabrielle..." she whispered.

A hand from under the snow grabbed both of Xena's legs and then men began popping out of the snow and grabbed onto Gabrielle's boots. Xena growled and unsheathed her sword trying to stab the man in the snow.

Gabrielle yelped and then began fighting off the two men. She looked around her and saw more men popping out from underneath the snow and her eyes widened. Xena grabbed the man's arms and flipped him out from under the snow and he grabbed onto her flipping her onto her backside.

Xena began wrestling with the soldier and both rolled back and forth across the snow and then he grabbed her by the arms and flipped her over him and she held onto his arms. They slowly began sliding down an invisible hill in the snow and she tried to gain traction with her boots but kept sliding down. He jumped on top of her and both tumbled down the hill together.

"Xena!" Gabrielle called out as she saw her tumble down the hill. Etrut and Teris came finally to their rescue and fought off the snowmen. Gabrielle stepped forward and felt her foot slip. She gasped and pulled her leg away seeing some snow fall down from the hill.

Teris rode to Gabrielle, "where is the empress?" he asked frantically.

She pointed down the hill, "she tumbled down the hill with a Qin soldier!" she shouted and he grabbed her and put her on his horse then began riding down the hill with Etrut following behind him.

* * *

Xena slid down the hill and turned her head to see a cliff. Her eyes widened and she began digging her fingers into the snow trying to gain traction but she kept slipping away. The man was sliding down behind her and she groaned, grabbing her sword she stuck it in the snow as hard as she could. The sword was slowing her down somewhat but she still kept sliding down the hill coming closer to the cliff.

She turned her head and saw the cliff and put all her body weight on her sword trying to slow herself down but it seemed like she was picking up speed as the slope dipped more. She came to the edge of the cliff and her sword caught some rock in the snow and she breathed heavily, looking down at the abyss under her, hundreds of feet down, a far drop.

The man fell off the cliff and she couldn't see him anymore. Her legs dangled in the air and she tried to hoist herself up until a hand came to her leg. The Qin soldier smiled up at her as he grabbed onto both of her legs. She heard her sword creaking against the rocks and her eyes widened. Grunting she tried to kick the man off of her and he grabbed onto her cloak, choking her.

Her blade was beginning to dip down and she inched further down. He felt her climbing up on her body and the sword continued to fall. Her eyes widened in fear of death for the first time in her life and no one to save her either.

Teris rode towards the edge and saw a cliff. He halted his horse and it skid in the snow. Gabrielle lunged forward holding onto his waist. He saw Xena's sword, "Lady Gabrielle, the empress..." he said and she saw the sword.

Gabrielle hopped off the horse and saw the sword dipping and heard grunting. "She's alive!" she smiled and ran towards the edge of the cliff. She saw a few rocks fall down and then saw Xena hanging onto the hilt of her sword for dear life. "Xena!"

Xena looked up and thanked the gods that she saw Gabrielle. "Gabrielle!" she grunted as the man was trying to pull her down.

"I need a rope!" Gabrielle said and Etrut grabbed a rope from his bag and ran over and saw Xena dangling from the sword. "We're going to save you!" she called out to Xena.

The sword began slipping and Etrut threw the rope over the cliff and Xena's grip loosened on the sword from her sweaty palms. Teris grabbed the rope and tied it to his horse. The sword fell off the cliff and Xena fell down a few feet then grabbed the rope hanging by the wall of the cliff. She breathed heavily and the man slipped down to her boots. "Get off of me you bastard!" she kicked him in the jaw and his grip slipped and fell down into the dark snowy abyss below, screaming loudly.

"Pull her up!" Etrut whistled to Teris and he nodded, riding backwards slowly on his horse.

Gabrielle smiled and Xena gripped onto the rope tightly as she was slowly pulled up from her near death. Etrut grabbed Xena's hand and lifted her up and she collapsed onto her back, breathing heavily. Gabrielle stared down at her, "told you we would save you," she smiled and Xena grinned back, feeling her heart about to pound out of her chest.

* * *

Teris rolled up the rope and saw Xena limping with Gabrielle. "Empress, there are too many soldiers here. We don't have enough men. I lost four of my Alps back at the border and seven archers, probably more if they're still fighting against the emperor's army."

Xena frowned and leaned onto Gabrielle, feeling her leg about to give out. She knew she had strained something from that fall but chose to ignore it. "We don't have time to send for help. We're too far from Persia now."

Gabrielle sighed, "but Xena we almost got killed back there and you almost met your death! We are outnumbered here! If it weren't for Etrut and Teris, you'd be dead."

Teris interrupted, "I suggest we regroup and rest for awhile. We cannot fight them alone so we must find another way to fight these soldiers. I can send Etrut to find the Alps and archers that are still alive. I have two tents with me and Etrut has one. That should be enough for us until we figure out a plan."

Gabrielle nodded, "that sounds like a good idea. Xena?" she turned to her.

Xena grumbled then placed her hand on her aching hip. "Fine, but we need to scout the wall. Not all of it is guarded. The parts that aren't have forests around it."

Teris agreed, "alright then," he nodded his head to Etrut and he went off riding to regroup the rest of the living men. "How far are these forests?" he asked her then got off his horse to help her up on his horse for her to ride the rest of the way. At first she refused then Gabrielle pushed her forward.

Xena looked out into the snow and saw the wall ahead. "A few miles..." she said.

Gabrielle frowned, "how many miles?"

"About fifty or so," she admitted softly and Gabrielle slapped her forehead.

Teris sighed, "then we should get a move on then. Etrut will find us. We won't be traveling too fast," he pulled on the horse's reins and they rode off together with Gabrielle walking beside the horse. Xena winced at her hip and injured leg.

Gabrielle looked up at Xena's pained face. "What's wrong with your leg?"

She shook her head, "nothing. I just pulled something that's all."

"I'll look at it when we arrive to our destination," she said and wrapped her arms around her as the air became colder as the sun began to set.

* * *

_Xianyang, Qin_

A royal guard came running into the throne room and Ming Tien was talking to his advisor and saw the troubled man. The guard fell to his knees breathing heavily and the men beside him blocked his path with spears.

"Your majesty..." the guard bowed his head.

"What is it?" Ming Tien waved his hand for his men to back off the distraught soldier.

The soldier lifted his head and tried to regain his breathing. "The Empress..." he breathed harshly, "the Empress of Greece...she's –she's..."

Ming Tien frowned, "out with it, you fool!" he yelled.

"She is in Qin, your majesty!" the man bowed his head again. "We tried to stop her! She went beyond the borders of Han, your majesty!" he pleaded, "please, do not kill me," he begged.

The emperor's eyes widened in fury and he stood up then tipped over his throne growling angrily. "You did not kill her?!" he yelled. The man shook his head. "Where is she now?!"

He lifted his head, "we...we do not know, your highness!"

Ming Tien's nostrils flared just thinking about Xena. She was here in his kingdom and she was alive. He turned to the pleading man. "Take him away," he said and the guards grabbed him by the arms.

"Your majesty, please! I beg you!" he cried out as he was being drug away, crying for his life that he knew was about to be ended indefinitely.

"The Greek Empress is in my kingdom and nobody knows where she is?!" the emperor yelled and everyone lowered their gaze, fearful of their leader. "I want her found! I want every inch of this land to be searched. I want her brought to me!" He said and everyone lifted their eyes. "Now!" he demanded and his advisor left with a horde of men to go alert the general of the military.

He stormed out of his throne chamber and went to pay a visit to his prisoners.

* * *

Solan was sitting on the floor toying with the chains around his wrists. Allat was strapped to a wall and both hadn't eaten hardly anything these last few months, both looking sickly and thin. A guard opened the door and Solan turned to see Ming Tien enter the room. He stood up and saw the emperor was infuriated.

"Your mother is here in Qin," the emperor said.

Solan smiled softly, "I told you she would come for us." Ming Tien slapped his face and Solan groaned hitting the wall behind him, too weak to fight back.

"The same arrogance as your mother," the emperor smirked then snapped his fingers. "Take him ," he said and the men unlocked Solan from his chains and tied his arms behind him so he wouldn't escape.

Allat's eyes widened, "where are you taking him?" he growled seeing Solan being manhandled out of the cell.

Ming Tien walked up to him and smiled, "to a private cell. I'll make sure he is taken care of. Don't you worry, Assyrian, he is in good hands."

"Burn in hell!" Allat spat in the emperor's face.

He wiped off the saliva from his cheek and frowned in disgust at Allat. "I've never seen such fire and passion for a friend..." he smirked and Allat grimaced down at him. "Perhaps...he is more than just...a friend?" he chuckled and Allat's eyes widened, remaining quiet. "Ah I see it now. He is not your friend, he is your companion." The emperor nodded while staring into the eyes of the Assyrian king. "Then I'll make sure he gets  _extra_  special treatment, courtesy of you." He walked out of the room.

Allat yelled, "Xena will find you and kill you! And if she doesn't, then I will!" he yelled and the door shut. Now he was all alone. He felt his eyes swell with tears though it was too painful to cry. His eyes were swollen and sore from lack of sleep and proper food. "May the gods protect you, Solan," he muttered.

* * *

Solan was strapped down to a table and he grunted, trying to set himself free but the men held him down. Though it wasn't too hard since he was too weak to fight back. Ming Tien entered the room and there were candles everywhere and it was very dark in here.

A few hooded men came to Solan and dumped a bucket of cold water on his face. Solan gasped for air and spit out water, breathing harshly.

"Your friend Allat cares about you a lot, I see that now," Ming Tien walked towards the table and stared down the Greek prince. "He told me to tell you to give you special treatment and that's exactly what I'm going to do," he smiled.

Another bucket of water was dumped on his face and Solan closed his eyes and mouth. A man opened Solan's mouth and the water flowed in, down his throat and he coughed violently as he began to drown. "You..." he coughed, "you won't get away with this."

"I can and I will. Your mother is going to die, Solan." He frowned and another bucket of water was dumped onto him. He watched as Solan was struggling and his arms tensed up as he was trying to squirm his way out of this situation.

The emperor watched as the water slowly dripped off of Solan's body and he was lost in a daze, watching the torture commence. "Don't drown him. I will need him later for a certain  _occasion_." He turned and left the room as Solan was coughing up water.

* * *

_Ujjain, Scythia_

Eve sat in the caravan with Mehmed, Samuel's general, and the trip wasn't too long although she wished it were a bit longer so she could gather her thoughts before meeting with the Scythian king and his wife. She hoped that Amelia wasn't going to be super catty and rude like the first time she met her, though Samuel seemed more annoyed than she was at the time.

She was nervous to say the least. Her mother had always gone on trips like these to meet with people to discuss peace treaties or money exchanges, trade and commerce deals. Eve always heard her talk about them with Gabrielle and while she didn't notice, her mother seemed to be in complete control and not stressed at all about any of it. But now, she realized that this type of work was incredibly stressful and Xena hid it well, so well that Eve never noticed her entire life.

As she sat in the caravan, waiting to approach the palace in Ujjain she felt anxious, excited and worried. Samuel told her to basically be a spy and report to him what was going on in the palace for him. Samuel was busy organizing his army and discussing plans with his court. Eve was not used to being in Persia and dealing with Persian politics, though she knew her mother had more experience in this field. Persia operated so differently than Greece did. Greece was definitely more free thinking and liberal than Persia was. It was probably one of the reasons Xena and the previous king did not get along very well. Eve also thought that Phraates was just awful and that was the biggest reason the two powerhouses didn't get along and it was different now. Persia was turning towards a new direction –a better direction.

She twiddled with her thumbs in her lap nervously and casually kept adjusting her collar of her black dress. Mehmed sat opposite her and noticed the princess's apprehension during the entire journey.

"Princess, you need not to worry," he smiled at her and she lifted her eyes, staring at him with her big worried eyes.

"I just hope I can represent Persia and Greece well..." she sighed and looked down at her lap.

He grabbed her hand and stared into her blue eyes warmly. "I think you are doing a great job so far, princess. Your mother would be very proud of you," he winked.

That made her feel better and she finally smiled for the first time throughout their journey together. "Thank you Mehmed." She kept holding onto his hand and then felt the horses halt and the caravan stopped. Suddenly the nerves came rushing back and her heart raced.

The door opened and she saw a hand come out to her. She peered outside and saw a Scythian royal guard with his hand out and had a big smile on his face. She grabbed his hand and stepped outside to see the palace. It was pretty large and had gold domes on all the big buildings. There were tall columns everywhere which reminded her of the Persian palace back in Susa.

"Welcome to Ujjain, princess," the man greeted her and she grinned nervously at him.

Mehmed came out the caravan after her and grabbed her cloak and slipped it over her. Her body tensed up and she smiled at him as he kept a very close distance to her. It was his job to make sure nothing happened to her or else Samuel and Xena would have his head, literally.

The snow was a lot heavier up here and the entire palace grounds were covered in snow. It looked like a place from a fairytale, covered in white with gold accents. Eve was escorted by the royal guards following behind her and walking in front of her with Mehmed by her side. She glanced around and noticed there were guards everywhere, even in the towers. Frowning up at them she didn't really feel welcome here, even though the hospitality was nice so far.

Mehmed looked around very cautious of his surroundings. They were walking up the stairs to the entrance of the grand palace. He hooked arms with Eve and she looked to him with concern. "I am here to protect you," he whispered and she replied with a curt nod. "I'm not the king's general in this area. I'm just your friend," he whispered in her ear and she frowned at him. He smiled, "just friends. We don't want to give anything away."

"We both know I am more than capable of taking care of myself," she hissed back as they continued to walk up the stairs.

"Of course, princess, but your mother will kill me if something happens to you," he smiled.

The guard halted and clicked his heels together, bowing towards Eve. "This way, princess," he smiled and she looked to the large opened doors.

* * *

After walking through a long series of hallways, they arrived at two large doors. The guards opened them and slowly she was able to see the king himself sitting on his throne, waiting for her. His wife was sitting next to him and she tried not to make any faces. Poker face, just like Xena does, she remembered that was the key to not show any emotion whatsoever no matter who the opponent was.

Eve walked into the large gold throne chamber and looked at the king straight in his dark eyes. King Nimrood smiled at her then the doors were closed. She jumped and held her breath, trying to appear as normal as possible. He stood from his throne, "welcome to Scythia, Princess of Greece...or shall I say Princess of Persia?" he smiled. He looked at her attire and it was definitely more Persian than Greek. Her black skin tight dress with gold leaves on the front, traveling down one side of the dress and not to mention the black sheer veil she wore over her long wavy dark hair.

She bowed her head curtly at the king, "thank you for having me here in your home," her eyes narrowed and he noticed her hostility.

He grabbed his wife's hand and she stepped down from the dais. "This is my wife, Amelia. She is from Persia just as your husband is."

Eve eyed Amelia and bowed her head slowly at her, "very nice to meet you," she lifted her head and smiled at the Scythian queen which did not go unnoticed.

Amelia frowned at her and lifted her chin, scanning her body up and down thoroughly. "You look much thinner than I remember," the queen smirked, taking a jab at Eve.

Eve's smile disappeared within an instance and chose to ignore that comment.

King Nimrood chuckled, "you two know each other?!" he said with a big smile and Eve couldn't take her eyes off of Amelia. "That's great news. I'm sure you will both have a lot to discuss during your stay, princess."

"I'm looking forward to it," Eve said with a tight lipped smile and Amelia grinned, chuckling softly under her breath.

Later Amelia graciously showed Eve around the palace and Eve walked beside her, not saying a word the entire tour. She was not interested in the palace at all and wanted to know where the key points were, like the king's quarters and office. If she were to spy on the Scythian king then she would need more information, not just a simple tour of the grand palace. It was nice, she had to admit, but she preferred her home back in Athens more. She missed the white marble floors and walls in the Athenian palace and the statues of Greek and Roman gods in the large hallway of the entrance. Not to mention the gorgeous gold and burgundy drapes hanging from all the open windows. This palace was dark and very unoriginal to say the least.

Amelia turned to Eve, "you're being very quiet," she observed.

Eve smiled at her, "I'm overwhelmed," she lied. Amelia stared at her for a bit longer then they went into a large room filled with pillows, couches and candles everywhere. It almost reminded Eve of the atrium in the Roman palace.

"So Eve..." Amelia turned to her, "why have you come to Ujjain?" she blinked.

Eve smiled at her, "the King of Persia asked me to come here to negotiate with the Scythian king and that's what I'm going to do."

Amelia nodded and kept that in mind that she would need to hear all of those details later from her husband. "I hope Persia is being kind to you. I know you are used to your free life in Greece." She grinned curiously.

"Persia is my home now, but Greece will always be in my heart," Eve said coldly, remembering that Athens was no longer home to her and it would never be again since it was damn near destroyed by Octavius and his men.

"Pity that your home in Athens was flooded," Amelia batted her eyelashes with a false smile.

Eve grinned anxiously, "one day my mother will reclaim Athens."

The Scythian queen hummed to herself, "yes, well, I'd like to see that," she smiled tightly and Eve stared at her. "And how is your mother?" she asked.

"She is very busy, as always," Eve said, not to give away any details and she was growing tired of making small talk with Amelia. It was obvious she didn't like her very much, yet she was trying so hard to converse. "I would like to rest for a bit. When will the king talk with me?"

Amelia smirked, "when he asks for you. I can show you to your room..." she began trailing off and Eve frowned, following behind her reluctantly.

* * *

That evening Eve already bathed herself, courtesy of Amelia, of course. She put on a gold gown and sat down on the large bed and pulled out some parchment and a quill to write. She really didn't like this place at all and Gabrielle always told her to write her thoughts down whenever she felt conflicted or worried about something.

The longer she didn't hear from her mother and Gabrielle, the more worried she became and wondered if they were alright. She knew that her mother was incredibly resourceful and always seemed to get out of anything she got herself into. She also thought of her brother and Allat. It was incredibly worrisome that her mother didn't find them yet. She was beginning to think that they were dead, thought she hoped they weren't.

A knock came to the door and Eve lifted her head from the parchment. "Yes?" she called out softly and a maid entered the room carrying a tray of a large glass of wine. Eve set her quill down and the maid bowed her head.

"A gift from the king, your highness," she smiled and set the tray down on the bed. Eve looked at the wine glass and picked it up, looking at the dark thick liquid. It was almost black it was so thick.

"The king sends wine to his guests?" Eve eyed her curiously.

The maid nodded, "of course your highness. Especially guests like you," she smiled bowing her head and took the tray to leave and closed the door behind her.

Eve raised an eyebrow and sipped the wine. She licked her lips and looked at the wine again. She had never tasted wine as sweet as this one. It was almost better than the wine she had in Greece.

A couple of hours later Eve kept writing and she finished the wine over the course of two hours as she kept writing. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, feeling exhausted. She leaned back on the pillows and closed her eyes.

As she was about to fall asleep a loud knock came to the door and she jumped up. A guard came in, "the king wishes to see you now," he said. Eve frowned and looked outside the window. It was very late in the evening already and she thought that they were going to talk tomorrow.

"At this hour?" Eve asked.

"Yes princess," he replied. "He expects you within the hour," he bowed his head and left the room. Eve groaned and got out of the bed and slipped on her shoes, ready to get this over with, though in truth, she had no idea what to say to him.

* * *

Minutes later she walked through the doors of the king's throne chamber and she saw him sitting on his throne waiting for her and thank the gods, Amelia was not there. "Princess," he smiled and stood up walking towards her. Eve eyed him carefully and he grabbed her hand, kissing it gently. "We shall talk in my study." He lead her to a room connected to the chamber.

When they walked through the doors she noticed this was some study. There were pillows on the floor and even water pipes everywhere. This seemed more like a party room than a room fit for discussing politics. He smiled and sat down on the floor, lounging on the pillows. "I like to be comfortable for these types of talks, you understand?"

Eve nodded and sat down, feeling very uncomfortable. A servant brought them each a glass of wine and she took the glass. More wine, she thought, just what I need right now. He sipped the wine and stared at her with a sneaky smile. "Your mother has her men at my borders. You know I have no quarrels with your mother."

"You threaten Persia, you threaten Greece, your majesty. And you don't want to be on my mother's bad side," she smirked and she sipped the wine. He watched her as she drank from the glass and smiled at her.

"I would never want conflict with the empress. She is a very formidable woman –a warrior queen as my father called her," he chuckled, continuing to drink the wine. Eve drank some more of the wine in silence and tapped on the glass awkwardly. "It's amazing that a woman is able to sustain her empire as long as she has done. Your mother impresses me."

Eve smiled, "she has a lot of experience."

"I'll say. She has ruled all of Greece for over thirty years and now she has Rome in her grasp. Hopefully she does not try and take my land while she's at it!" he chuckled lowly.

"Are you giving her a reason to, your highness?" Eve asked in a serious tone.

Nimrood extended his arms across the pillows and smiled at the princess. "Of course not, princess, or shall I call you vizier?" she saw her face was unreadable and blank. "I'm surprised Samuel appointed a woman to be his vizier, let alone his own wife!"

"You don't think I am fit to be his advisor?" she raised an eyebrow.

He smiled, "I said no such thing, princess. Just seems a little unorthodox."

She nodded and set aside the wine and he eyed her glass cautiously. "Why are you making threats against Persia and refuse to act on them?"

His eyes widened, not expecting that to come out of her mouth. "Persia and Scythia have always had a good relationship, princess. It wasn't until Samuel took the throne that it became a problem."

"You mean, you're not receiving any money from Persia to fund your army anymore?" she smiled deviously.

He frowned at her, "you know nothing of Persia's politics, princess. It would be advisable for you to read the laws of –"

"I've read them." She stated and he glared at her. "I even revised some of the laws, including the money laundering between Scythia and Persia. Under Phraates' reign, Persia became corrupt and stayed that way for more than fifteen years before my mother killed him." She saw his eyes widened more. "It's just bad business to continue the corruption, don't you think?" she smirked.

He sighed heavily, "what exactly does the Persian king want from me?"

"Return the stolen money and weapons and also stop threatening to attack Persia. If you do all of those things then you are free and no harm will come to you," she narrowed her eyes.

He stared at her for a few moments then began laughing. "You really think I'm going to return the money? Come now, princess," he sipped his wine casually.

She frowned deeply, "you choose to war with Persia instead of making peace?" she shook her head. "This is a stupid decision, your majesty. Greece is on Persia's side and will wipe you out instantly. I advise you to reconsider your decision."

Nimrood sighed and smiled at her sweetly, "it seems this meeting is over since we cannot agree." Eve frowned and stood up.

"You're making a big mistake, Nimrood," she folded her arms and walked to the doors and they were opened for her.

"Hope you enjoyed the wine," he called out as she stormed out of the room and he chuckled softly. "Spoiled Greek princesses," he scoffed downing the rest of his wine.

**AN: and to be continued in Qin! :D**


	46. Chapter 46

**AN: something to tie in the previous story, for good reason and gives more meaning to my explanation for the title I chose ;) enjoy!**

Chapter 46 – _The Lady of Shanghai_

It took much longer than expected to finally reach the destination that Xena spoke of. Out of twelve Alps, only four of them survived back in the kingdom of Qin. Etrut returned with the four survivors only a couple of hours after Teris, Xena and Gabrielle arrived at the forests.

A few tents were set up and Teris stood guard in the dark forests. It was less snowy in this area which was good and also there was cover for everyone in case they got attacked again. This part of the wall was unfinished and that was probably why it was not guarded as well as the other ends of the wall.

Xena sat in the tent with Gabrielle and she winced as the pain in her leg increased the more she moved. Gabrielle washed her hands and took off Xena's armor throwing it aside and then started to unbuckle her belt. Xena put her hand on Gabrielle's wrist. "I'm fine really, Gabrielle," she smiled weakly.

Gabrielle pressed her hand on Xena's hip and she hissed, grimacing at her. She then smiled, "yeah you're fine alright." She ripped the belt off and tossed it aside then began pulling down Xena's pants to look at her hip. Xena rolled her eyes and Gabrielle saw Xena's hip had a huge scrape on it and was bruised badly. "Gods, Xena, you really know how to hurt yourself."

"It's just a scratch, it's fine," Xena lamely said and tried to scoot away until Gabrielle grabbed her leg, preventing her from moving.

"Stop being difficult," she leaned in closer to look at the open wound and touched the bruised area with her fingers and Xena tensed. "Quit moving!" she snapped and Xena remained still. She then grabbed a cloth and began cleaning the wound as gently as possible. Sighing she looked through Teris's bag of medical supplies and pulled out a needle made for leatherwork and grabbed some thick thread, cutting it with her teeth.

She dug the needle in Xena's skin carefully and saw Xena turn away. She pulled the thread through and then went in again gently and smiled seeing Xena cringe in pain. "You're such a baby," she chuckled and Xena snapped her head around, glaring at her.

"You try escaping death on a snowy slope and see how well you do without hurting yourself," Xena replied tersely.

"Thought it was just a scratch?" Gabrielle teased and pulled the needle through, slowly closing the large gash. "Almost finished your  _majesty_ ," she continued to tease.

"Oh please," Xena rolled her eyes and then Gabrielle tied the thread then bit the remainder off. Xena looked down at her hip and saw it patched up well and was impressed.

Gabrielle washed her hands and then cleaned the wound some more. "See, all done. You want a cookie?" she giggled and Xena folded her arms. Gabrielle cleared her throat, "sorry." She hid her smile and carefully slid Xena's pants up and pat her leg gently.

"Thank you," Xena mumbled and Gabrielle smiled at her. She scooted up to sit straighter and leaned against the animal skins and winced as she moved her hip slightly.

Gabrielle crawled over and laid down beside Xena. "so, what is the plan now? We're so close yet so far..."

Xena exhaled sharply, "we need to go back to the kingdom. It's the only way inside and I'm sure Ming Tien knows we're here."

Gabrielle nodded, "but there are too many men back there. We can't just waltz in. Look how that turned out," she sighed and rested her head on Xena's chest.

"We could climb the wall to get inside the palace," she said and Gabrielle lifted her head slightly and Xena peered down at her companion's worried eyes. "We'll have to do it at night so we won't be seen. I know the perfect spot."

Gabrielle sighed and felt Xena's heart beat against her ear and smiled. "You always have a plan for everything and when that one doesn't work, you have another one." She grabbed Xena's hand and looked at her long fingers, examining the subtle wrinkles on her hand. She would always look the same to her, no matter how old she became. "How do you do it?"

Xena smiled, "a lot of practice and a lot of failures."

"You never fail," Gabrielle chuckled and wrapped her fingers around Xena's hand.

"You have to fail sometimes, Gabrielle, otherwise you'll be running around in circles and end up dead," she sighed. "The important thing is to learn from your mistakes." She frowned sadly and felt Gabrielle scoot closer to her. "Something I should have realized a long time ago. I should clean up after myself," she jested.

Gabrielle lifted her eyes and saw Xena was focused on something in her mind. "I think you've done a good job in that department, Xena. You are a merciful empress," she smiled and snuggled down against her chest again.

Xena smirked, "some may say that while others may not. I have a feeling Ming Tien doesn't believe that." She frowned thinking that man had her son in his grasp and he wouldn't do that unless he knew who he was and he was only doing it because Solan was her son, there was no better explanation than that. "If he does anything to Solan, I'm going to kill him."

Gabrielle lifted her body off Xena and frowned at her. "No Xena. You don't need to resort to that."

"That is a decision that I will have to live with Gabrielle and you can't change my mind," she rolled over on her uninjured hip and tried to get comfortable.

Gabrielle sighed and blew out the candles around them and laid down beside her. She toyed with her long locks and touched the single silver streak in her hair. "Well, hopefully it doesn't come to that," she whispered and closed her eyes, feeling exhaustion take over her tired body and mind.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Eve and Mehmed traveled back to Persia after less than two days of staying in Scythia. Eve somehow knew that Nimrood wasn't going to comply with her demands and also felt like she failed. She had no important information for Samuel and that was going to be disappointing. She hated to give him the news but it was all she had and she was disappointed in herself for not being able to coerce the Scythian king to bend to her will. She was starting to think that this was not a good job for her. Xena always made people do what she wanted, though she used her brute force as a last resort. Eve was not going to resort to that, figuring that was not the way to win someone over. That just wasn't her style at all she came to find out.

They rode in the caravan and Eve felt her palms begin to sweat and she felt incredibly hot even though it was freezing outside. Mehmed was reading over a document and noticed Eve sweating profusely. He tucked the parchment into his pocket and frowned. "Princess, are you alright?"

She nodded, "I'm fine," she wiped the sweat off her brow and Mehmed shook his head at her.

"No you're not," he touched her forehead, "you're burning up with a fever," he looked outside and saw the palace was not too far now. "We will be back at the palace in no time, princess," he smiled weakly trying to calm her.

Eve cringed and felt immediately sick to her stomach, she wrapped her arm around her midsection and closed her eyes, trying to think of something else to distract her. She began coughing violently and she choked out, "water...I need water."

He nodded and hit the side of the caravan and the horses stopped. He opened the door and went to the back to grab the wineskins filled with water. He returned and handed her an open wineskin and she downed the water instantly.

She lolled her head back and felt like the water was not helping at all even though her throat was dry. Mehmed climbed back in and whistled at the horseman to keep driving. Eve closed her eyes and exhaled sharply. He grabbed her wrist and checked her pulse and her heart rate was extremely high. He poked his head outside the window, "drive faster!" he demanded and looked back at Eve. "We're almost there, don't worry," he tried to ease her and she nodded her head slowly.

* * *

Samuel saw the caravan arrive from the second floor of the palace and he smiled, anxious to see Eve and hear how the meeting with Nimrood turned out. He traveled down the stairs quickly and saw Mehmed exit the caravan first.

"I need a doctor!" the general shouted and immediately guards ran inside of the palace to find the royal physician. Samuel frowned and saw Mehmed carrying Eve in his arms up the stairs.

The king's eyes widened and he ran towards them. He stared at Eve and she was extremely pale and cold to the touch. "What's wrong with her?" he became worried instantly.

"I don't know, my king. She was fine throughout the journey until we reached Susa," he hurried up the stairs carrying Eve carefully.

Mehmed hurried down the hallway and the guards opened Eve's bedroom doors. Kosem was with the children on the floor and saw the general carrying Eve in. She gasped and held Luca and Layla close to her. "What happened?" she asked.

"Get those two out of here," Mehmed ordered and Kosem picked up Layla and another maid walked in and carried Luca out of the room. Samuel followed in right after and Mehmed laid Eve on her bed. "She has a fever," he looked to the king.

Samuel frowned, "where is the physician?!" he cried out and tapped Eve's cheek and she had her eyes closed and didn't move at all. "Eve..." he came close to her and smiled, hoping that she'd wake up.

The physician came in with some helpers and Mehmed grabbed a hold of Samuel. "Afendim, you need to stay clear of her. She could have a terrible illness."

Samuel grunted, "no, I want to stay here!" he pulled his arm away and Mehmed grabbed his shoulders pushing him out of the room. "No!"

"Your majesty!" he groaned and pushed him out the room. "We cannot risk you getting sick. You may not go near her until we know it is safe..." he said calmly and Samuel breathed heavily, nodding his head slowly.

"Tell Kosem to keep the children away from this room," he demanded then walked off to go find his mother.

* * *

An hour later Samuel was pacing outside of Eve's room waiting for some news. Hatima sat in a chair outside the room and prayed silently to herself. She looked up to her worried son and grabbed his hand. "Samuel, please stop."

He frowned, "something is wrong with her, mother. I am responsible for her and if anything happens to her, Xena is going to kill me."

Hatima shook her head, "don't be ridiculous, she will do no such thing," she kissed his hand and he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, frustrated at this entire situation.

The physician stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Samuel heard Eve gagging and retching violently. His eyes widened, "what is wrong with her?!" he demanded, coming close to the old man.

The doctor cleared his throat, "well I think I found out what is wrong with her. She's not sick."

Samuel raised an eyebrow. "Not sick?" the doctor shook his head. "Is she pregnant?" he hoped that was all it was.

"No your highness, the princess is not carrying a child," he lowered his eyes.

"Then  _what_  is it?!" Samuel was starting to get angry.

The doctor fidgeted with the bloodied cloth in his hands and adjusted his collar. "It appears that the princess has been poisoned."

Hatima gasped and covered her mouth and came to stand beside her son. Samuel blinked, not expecting that then he narrowed his eyes. "Nimrood...I'll kill him."

"Samuel, you are not thinking clearly. You don't even know if it was him that did it," Hatima calmly said and Samuel brushed her hand off his shoulder.

"Tell Mehmed to check all of our food and wine supply. I want a full report," he said and Hatima nodded then ran off to find the general. He turned to the doctor, "can I see her?"

The doctor sighed, "your highness, it's not very wise to go in there. She is contaminated."

Samuel frowned, "she's not  _contaminated_ , she's my wife," he pushed the doctor aside and opened the door. He stepped inside the room and saw Eve vomiting blood into a bowl that one of the maids was holding at the edge of the bed. The maids held cloths against their mouths and Eve gasped heavily then collapsed on the pillows.

He took a few steps closer and the maids dispersed from the area. Eve turned her head and saw Samuel coming closer to her. He smiled and sat on the bed, grabbing her hand, gripping it firmly. "Hey there," he said softly and she smiled at him. "I just want to let you know you're going to be alright."

Eve coughed and he cringed, seeing the state she was in. "You shouldn't...be in here," she croaked, her voice cracking.

"I wanted to see you," he smiled and she coughed some more, then a maid came back with the bowl and she vomited more blood into the bowl. "I'm going to find out what happened to you."

Eve coughed and the maid wiped her mouth then she leaned against the pillows. "Wine..." she whispered and Samuel leaned in closer, trying to hear what she said. She sat up and frowned, "the  _wine_..." she hissed then retched some more.

Samuel got off the bed and was now super infuriated and left the room. The royal guards followed him and he snapped his fingers, "I want all of the wine thrown out and all the food burned. I want a record of everything that passes through these gates. I want Mehmed to interview all of our chefs and servants immediately," he demanded. "Now!" he yelled and the men took off running.

He saw his mother walking towards him and she had a solemn face. "How is she?"

He shook his head, "not good. She kept repeating wine. I believe that Scythian poisoned her and if that's not enough to act on war, then I don't what is." He looked at her and sighed, "could you go be with the children for awhile? I'm sure Kosem has her hands full with those two."

"of course," she smiled and kissed her son's cheek then left his side to go find the twins.

* * *

_Xianyang, Qin_

Xena and entourage traveled to the wall close to the kingdom of Qin. Xena knew this side of the wall very well and was surprised to find that Ming Tien kept building onto the wall even after his mother's death. The last time she was here, the wall wasn't even half as long as it is now. To say the least, she was impressed by this feat.

Teris, Etrut and the remaining four Alps left their horses behind a couple of miles back just in case something happened. They walked to the wall and there was a large lake behind the wall. Xena looked up and could see candle lights and she knew that was the emperor's domain. She was so close and she smiled, wanting to get this over with.

Gabrielle grabbed the rope and looked up the wall. "Are you sure about this?" she whispered to Xena.

Xena nodded, "of course I'm sure. It leads right into the palace." She threw the rope over the wall and yanked on it to make sure it had a nice hold to it. "And once we're in, we get Solan and Allat and leave this place."

"And that's all, right?" Gabrielle looked to her and Xena didn't respond.

Teris threw the rope over the wall and looked at Xena, "we will go in first to search the area then we'll tell you when it's safe." Both women nodded and the Alps began climbing up the wall as quietly as they could.

* * *

Inside the palace Ming Tien was sitting on his throne and Solan was brought into the room with a bag over his head and chained up by his wrists and ankles. The guards threw him on a table and Solan grunted then the men tied Solan down, spreading his arms out. The bag was ripped off his head and Solan's eyes blinked at the many people standing around him.

"What is this?!" Solan yanked on the straps and saw Ming Tien sitting comfortably on his throne. "Where's Allat?" he yelled.

The emperor smiled, "oh don't worry I didn't forget about him," he snapped his fingers and some more guards brought Allat into the room, chained up as well wearing nothing but his pants. "He has a front row seat," he grinned.

Allat groaned and saw Solan strapped to a table. "Solan, don't listen to him!"

Solan saw someone in a gold mask staring down at him. His eyes widened and then the masked man began smearing blood all over his face and chest. He cringed in disgust, especially at the smell. He grimaced at the emperor, "you're dead!" he yelled out and Ming Tien simply smiled.

* * *

Teris and Etrut went over the wall and snapped two soldiers' necks and they fell to the ground. Teris ducked down and saw some guards at a fair distance from them. Etrut poked his head over the wall staring down at Xena and Gabrielle. "The coast is clear, empress," he whispered and gave her a thumbs up.

Xena smiled and grabbed the rope. Gabrielle placed her hand on her shoulder. "Be careful," she said.

"Always," Xena grinned and both of them began climbing up the ropes over the extremely tall wall that guarded the palace. Gabrielle was first to reach the top and helped Xena over the wall. She winced as her wound was not healed enough and limped forward trying to remain vigilant. She glanced over and saw the palace, "there it is," she looked down and saw it was quite a jump.

Gabrielle saw that look in her eyes, "Xena, no!" she whispered and it was too late, Xena jumped down off the wall. Xena bit her tongue feeling her hip begin to ache and she got up, holding her hand to her hip and walked forward. "Ugh," Gabrielle jumped down after her and somersaulted on the ground.

Teris and the five Alps jumped down and trailed behind both women as they inched closer to the palace. Xena unsheathed her sword and ripped into the window screen. She stepped through and frowned at the place. It was deserted which she thought was odd. Ming Tien's men were always guarding the palace, no matter what.

Gabrielle stepped through the ripped screen and held her sword close to her, watching for anyone that might jump out and ambush them. "It's really quiet." She whispered.

"I know," Xena focused in and heard a loud voice and it sounded like Allat. Her ears perked up and she halted, "did you hear that?" she ran forward and Gabrielle trailed behind her.

* * *

Ming Tien laughed as the executioner cut slits into Solan's ankles and he cried out in agony. Allat averted his gaze, not able to look at the torture that his friend was enduring.

Suddenly, a guard came flying through the doors and Ming Tien stopped laughing. He saw Xena enter the room and frowned at her. "Xena!" he stood up and saw the executioner with the curved blade in his hand and smiled looking at Solan. "Do it!" he yelled and the masked executioner jabbed Solan in his torso.

Xena's eyes widened, "no!" she cried as she saw Solan's blood begin to drip down the table. She felt sick and then frowned at the emperor, now her blood boiling. "Ming Tien..." she hissed and twirled the blade in her wrist. The guards came to attack her and she drove the blade into a soldier coming straight for her and kicked another one down with her sore leg.

The Alps entered the room and took all of the soldiers trying to attack Xena and Gabrielle. Xena pulled her sword out and came marching towards the emperor with a fire in her eyes. He panicked and began to run away. "Where are you running to, Ming Tien?!" she yelled and followed him. She grabbed her chakram and threw it at a column, breaking it in half to block the exit. Ming Tien gasped and growled at the sight of her.

Gabrielle pushed a soldier out the window and huffed. She turned around and saw Solan bleeding out and ran to his side and Solan's eyes fluttered. "Solan," she smiled and pressed her hand against his gaping hole in his torso.

Solan smiled weakly up at her, "I knew you'd come for us," he closed his eyes and Gabrielle felt her heart begin to race.

Etrut cut the chains off of Allat's wrists and ankles. "Welcome back, brother," he smiled and Allat grinned at him.

"I owe Samuel," Allat ran to Solan and Gabrielle. He ripped off a piece of his pants and pressed it against Solan's wound. "Brother, you're going to be alright," he smiled and Solan nodded his head, slowly losing consciousness.

"You have this handled?" Gabrielle asked and Allat nodded. "I'm going to go after Xena," she unsheathed her Sais and ran to find Xena.

* * *

Xena was slowly sauntering towards the emperor with an eerie smile and he had nobody to protect him. "You kidnapped my son and tortured him," she hissed.

Ming Tien smirked, "it was easy to do. Those two were hiding from the Scythians! I found them in a cave in the Himalayas."

Xena recalled that cave and saw it during their journey. She couldn't believe that they actually escaped from the Scythians let alone hide in a cave, only to be found by the Emperor of Qin himself. "What a nice reunion this has been..." she smiled at him pointing the blade as she inched closer.

He backed up against a statue and it fell over. He grabbed a candlestick and pointed it at her. "I didn't know you had a son, Xena. He looks just like you and what's that fellow's name..." he grinned.

"Borias," her frown deepened.

"Ah yes, the man who tried to kill me!" he laughed and Xena came closer to him. "You can't win here Xena. You have no power in Qin."

She smirked, "says who?" she lunged forward and knocked the candlestick out of his hand. "You've turned your mother's kingdom of peace into a nightmare," she growled and knocked the emperor off his feet and he fell to the ground then pointed the blade at his throat. "You don't deserve to live."

Ming Tien chuckled nervously, "so what, you'll kill me? Then you will take all of my land and basically rule the world!" he spat at her and she smiled down at him.

"Is that what you want?" she smiled and the blade touched his throat.

He glared up at her, "you will become as we say in Qin, a lady of Shanghai –ruler of all lands." He frowned, "I just can't let that happen!" he grabbed the candlestick and jabbed it in her leg. She cried out in pain and cringed. He then began to run away from her and she snarled and pulled out the candlestick from her leg.

Gabrielle ran and found Xena then saw Ming Tien running away. "Xena!" she ran up to her and saw her leg bleeding. "By the gods..." she gasped.

Xena grabbed her chakram and held her bleeding wound. She eyed the emperor and threw her chakram straight for him. He bounced off the walls and split into two and one side of the chakram landed in his back and the other slicing off his head from his body. Gabrielle's eyes widened and she saw the emperor fall to the ground. The chakram returned to her and she grabbed it then collapsed onto the floor in pain. "Lady of Shanghai..." Xena muttered with a small smile.

Gabrielle helped her up off the floor, "what did he do to you?" she wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

Xena cringed, "he stabbed me with a candlestick..." she said and Gabrielle sighed heavily. "Is Solan alright?" she exhaled sharply feeling her stitches in hip ripping open and her leg wound opening further as she walked.

"Allat is taking care of him," she said and Xena winced.

* * *

Allat stood by Solan and he himself was covered in his friend's blood. He tried to block the wound with the cloth of his pants but it didn't seem to be working. "This doesn't look good, my friend," he shook his head.

Xena and Gabrielle rounded the corner and Xena saw Allat covered in blood. She limped forward and cupped Solan's cheek and smiled at his pale face. His eyes fluttered open and smiled softly at her. "You came," he said softly.

"Of course I did," Xena smiled and ran her fingers through his blonde hair.

Allat leaned in closely to the empress, "he has lost a lot of blood," he kept pressing onto the wound.

Xena frowned and took off her cloak and ripped a sleeve off, wrapping it around Solan's open wound to constrict it even more. She slapped his cheek gently and his eyes opened wide. "Hey Solan, I'm going to need you to stay awake. Can you do that for me?" he nodded and she smiled. "Good," she whistled and called Teris over.

The Alp came running to her, "yes empress?" he looked at Solan and saw he was in pretty bad shape.

"I need you to carry Solan out of here. Somewhere safe and preferably not in the palace..."

He nodded and got Etrut to come help him carry Solan out, careful not to disturb the wound in his torso.

Allat grinned at Xena and hugged Gabrielle tightly. Gabrielle felt her lungs constrict and she was lifted a foot in the air. " _Allat_..." she choked.

"You two are goddesses," he kissed Xena's hand and she smirked at him.

"Always the flatterer," Xena rolled her eyes and winced as she moved her leg.

Allat's eyes grew, "you're hurt!"

She waved her hand dismissing her injuries, "it's nothing."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes, "she always says that. Being the fragile one isn't her thing," she wrapped her arm around Xena to aid her out of the palace. Allat grinned and then picked up Xena in his arms and Gabrielle gasped.

"Put me down!" Xena demanded, feeling embarrassed enough and Allat chuckled and carried her out of the palace as she tried to resist his help. She continued to gripe and he just laughed at her.

"Solan is right, you are a grumpy lady, Xena," he joked and Xena gasped.

Gabrielle hid her smile, "wait until I tell Eve about this," she muttered to herself and ran behind them both.

* * *

Outside the palace walls Allat finally set Xena down on the ground and she clung onto him, fearing that she might fall over. Two injuries in one leg, perfect, she thought. Gabrielle grabbed onto her arm smiling at her. Xena saw Teris and Etrut lay Solan on the ground and he was passed out. Xena went over to him and checked his temperature. "He's cold," she sighed and took off her cloak and placed it over him then stood up slowly. "We should travel back to Persia by ship," she said.

Gabrielle blinked, "and how will we do that?"

Xena smiled, "we're going to steal a ship," she grabbed Gabrielle's hand and began limping alongside her. "It will give a chance for everyone to rest and stay away from the snow."

The blonde smirked, "you're crazy, you know that?" she clung onto her and Xena smiled in return. Teris and Etrut lifted Solan off the ground again and one of the Alps gave Allat a cloak to wear and offered him his horse for the journey to the coast of Qin.

They walked together and one of the Alps offered Xena his horse but she refused. Gabrielle walked slowly with her and looked into her eyes. "You killed Ming Tien..." she said softly.

"I did," she answered affirmatively.

"Are you going to claim Qin as yours since you killed the emperor?" Gabrielle wondered, quite curious.

Xena smiled, "one step at a time, Gabrielle." She limped along in the snow and the coast wasn't too far from here, but it felt so far away since she wasn't able to walk fast enough.

"If you claim Qin, then...you will be unstoppable. Nobody could stop you!" Gabrielle realized that this might make Xena go down in history as the most successful conqueror in the world. She would be more powerful than the Romans and Egyptians ever were. "You already have Greece, Rome, Egypt and technically Persia since you're allied with them again and also Assyria. If you have Qin too, you will have the biggest empire in history!"

"Do you want to be empress, Gabrielle?" Xena teased and her companion grinned softly. "I just want to return to Persia for now and get Solan the medical attention he needs."

Gabrielle frowned, "and you too, stitches," she smirked.

* * *

A couple of hours later they finally arrived at the Qin Sea and many of Ming Tien's royal guards were standing at the docks. As soon as they saw Xena and her crew, they immediately became defensive. Xena smiled and let go of Gabrielle's hand and walked forward, pushing through the pain, not to make herself seem weak.

"Your emperor is dead," she told them and they looked at each other, confused. "I killed him," she smiled and the men began whispering to one another. "I need a ship and you're going to give it to me." She pulled out her sword and grinned mischievously at them. "Unless you want a taste of my sword?" she chuckled lowly and they put down their weapons and dropped to their knees, bowing to the floor. Xena raised an eyebrow and sheathed her sword. "That was easy..."

Gabrielle ran to her with a big smile, "they think you're their new empress..." she whispered.

"Well, I'm not," Xena walked forward onto the next available ship. There were some men cleaning the ship and she stepped on board and everyone stopped to stare at her.

A man came forward and bowed towards Xena's feet. She frowned and lifted the man up by his shoulder. "You killed the emperor!" he clamped his hands together and smiled, teary eyed.

"You didn't like your emperor?" she asked, almost knowing the answer before the man even replied.

He shook his head, "he is a tyrant, empress! You saved us all!" he grinned and kissed her boots. She sighed and lifted him up again.

"You're free to go," Xena smiled at the man and thanked her immensely then took his crew with him and ran off the ship. Gabrielle watched them leave and the Alps step aboard with Solan in their arms and Allat trailing behind. "Ming Tien has made this kingdom Hades on earth," she shook her head.

Gabrielle grabbed her hand and smiled up at her, "but you can change Qin for the better like you did with Greece and Rome!" she batted her eyelashes and Xena rolled her eyes. "Come on Xena, you have a lot of money...you always said that you would help anyone in need. You should do it for Lao Ma," she grinned.

Xena let a sad smile slip and looked out at the open dark waters below them. "Lao Ma," she smirked, "she has such hopes and dreams for Qin and her son ruined it."

"Now you can fix it," Gabrielle said, hoping she'd comply with her.

"If I claim Qin as part of my empire, I want the name changed to kingdom of Lao, like it once was, long ago," Xena smiled and Gabrielle nodded at her and kissed her hand.

"I think she'd like that very much," Gabrielle added and Xena nodded.

The empress sighed looking out at the sea, "now let's get out of here," she winced as she turned around and held onto her broken stitches around her hip.

"I'm going to fix that," Gabrielle smiled and helped Xena get below the deck of the ship. Teris raised the sails and instructed his men to prepare the ship to leave. They placed Solan in a room below the ship due to his injuries and Allat stayed by his side.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Mehmed was interviewing all of the chefs inside the palace and had just finished interviewing some of the maids that pass through the kitchen quite often. Samuel walked into Mehmed's interrogation room and the maid in the chair averted her eyes from the king.

"What did you find out?" he said and the general sighed flipping through his many pages of dialogue.

"They know nothing, afendim. I'm sure this is an outside source," he shook his head and wrote down a few last notes. He glanced up at the frightened maid, "you may go now," he smiled and she stood up then bowed at the king and hurried out of the room.

"I want the entire military interviewed immediately. I want to know who has access to the wine and food supply. If the chefs and kitchen maidens know nothing, then it is not them who poisoned the wine."

Mehmed glanced up at the king, "the princess must have had some wine in Scythia, your highness."

Samuel frowned, "that doesn't mean that Nimrood wouldn't try and poison the rest of the kingdom! I want the report when you're finished," he turned to leave.

"Yes, your majesty," he stood up and left the room to go recruit all of the soldiers that guarded the kitchen doors and gates. He would start there first.

Samuel walked to Eve's room and stepped inside. The physician was standing beside the bed and Eve was sleeping. "How is she?" he asked, concerned for her.

The doctor sighed, "not good, my king," he set down a bloodied cloth.

"Well,  _fix_  her," the king demanded and the doctor nodded.

"I am doing the best I can, your highness. Sometimes, the poison just needs to leave the body's system in order to recover." He began washing his hands and sensed the king was not pleased with his answer. "I gave her a sedative for now," he picked up the water basin, now colored red. "I will come back in a few hours to check on her," he bowed his head curtly then hurried out of the room.

Samuel sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed Eve's pale hand and saw her breathing softly, her chest rising and falling slowly and heavily. He reached forward and grazed his fingers across her cheek and smiled sadly. "I promise that I will have severe consequences for King Nimrood, despite what you think about my punishments," he joked and she was unresponsive.

He stood up then kissed her forehead and looked at her one last time and left the room to allow her to rest.

**AN: one asshole down, another one to go!**


	47. Chapter 47

**AN: Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! Hopefully you all had a great holiday. Enjoy this piece here ;)**

Chapter 47

They sailed across the vast sea of Qin for the next two days and Gabrielle was able to stitch up Xena's old wound and her new one as well. She advised her to stay put and not move her leg for a few days, though she was sure that was unlikely to happen since Xena didn't like to stay in one place for long. She was always on the move and Gabrielle thought to strap Xena down to the table, though she was sure that wouldn't work either.

Gabrielle was in one of the cargo rooms where Solan and Allat stayed together. She had stitched up Solan's wound in a matter of hours of arriving on the ship. He had been asleep for the last few days and she was now cleaning the wound to make sure it would not become infected. She sighed and finished cleaning the wound and stood up. "He's going to have a rude awakening when he wakes up," she washed her hands and Allat smiled at her.

"Thank you Gabrielle. I don't what would have happened if you and Xena hadn't come with the Alps to save us," he sighed and wrapped the cloak around himself, staring at Solan.

"Solan would have died," Gabrielle stated. "It's a good thing we came in time. It was Xena's decision to come here." She smiled.

Allat nodded, "I wouldn't expect anything less from her. She would do anything to protect her children," he winked and Gabrielle agreed.

"She is unstoppable. When she gets in that mode, you can't stop her, not even me," she chuckled softly under her breath.

"She's a remarkable woman," he sighed with a big smile and Gabrielle hid her grin. "How is Eve and those twins of hers?"

Gabrielle shrugged, "I don't know, I'm assuming they're alright. I haven't spoken to her in months since we left Persia. We won't be able to send a message to Susa on this ship."

Allat nodded, "I owe Samuel so much. He sent his Alps and archers to save us and most of them died because of it."

"I'm sure you would have done the same for him. We are a family and family helps each other, right?" she smiled and he agreed with her. "I'm going to check on Xena. Just call for me if you need me," she left the room and Allat scooted on the stool he sat on and stared at Solan, hoping he'd wake up soon.

* * *

 

Gabrielle walked into the room close to the staircase and saw that Xena wasn't in the hammock she left her in. Groaning in frustration she hit the wall with her fist and ran up the stairs to the deck. She squinted her eyes at the bright sun and saw Xena standing on the forecastle of the ship talking with Teris as he sailed the ship.

She angrily walked up the stairs and Xena caught sight of her. She looked like a child being caught for doing something bad and she began walking away from her. "Running away huh?!" Gabrielle marched forward and Xena smiled nervously and inched her way down the steps.

"Gabrielle," she held her hand up, "I was just telling Teris that we need to stop somewhere for supplies, that's all," she smiled anxiously.

"I told you not to get up!" she folded her arms and Teris smirked at the two.

"Come on, Gabrielle," Xena lamely tried to defend herself and Gabrielle was not happy at all. "I'll go back and lay down if that will make you happy?"

Teris chuckled, "you two sound like an old married couple," he joked.

"Is this really any of your business, Teris?" Gabrielle glared at him and he cleared his throat and kept his eyes on the sea.

"Carry on..." he said and remained stoic, completely ignoring the two.

Xena began walking off casually back to the stairs below the deck and Gabrielle ran up to her and grabbed her arm. "Hey!" Xena frowned and snatched her arm from her hold.

"You had one job, Xena, one job! I told you to stay put for a few days and you can't even do that. What am I going to do with you?" she huffed and walked with her to go below the deck.

Xena rolled her eyes, "I'm going to lay down, alright? Don't get upset, Gabrielle. Look, I'm sorry, okay?" she admitted softly.

Gabrielle blinked, "what was that?" her ears perked up and she leaned upward to the towering empress. "Did you just apologize?" she smirked and Xena groaned.

"I'm sorry," Xena said again.

"What was that?" Gabrielle smiled.

"Gabrielle!" Xena snapped and Gabrielle chuckled then they came into the room and Xena sat down on a chair, stretching her leg out, careful not to break the stitches again, for the second time. "Happy now?" she grimaced, folding her arms.

Gabrielle smiled, "yes," she pulled up a stool and sat in front of her. "So, where are we going to stop and gather supplies?"

Xena sighed, "looks like you'll get your wish to see India after all. We're arriving tomorrow morning, hopefully." She saw the excitement on Gabrielle's face and shook her head. "Don't get too excited. We're going to stay for just a couple of days, that's it! we're there for supplies, food and clothes. Got it?"

"We can buy clothes?!" Gabrielle clamped her hands together, quite excited about that. She was more thrilled about that instead of eating food. The food on the ship was dried fish and some grain alcohol and that's all.

"Two days, Gabrielle," she held up two fingers and Gabrielle nodded her head vigorously. "How is Solan?" she asked, trying to change the subject, though she hated to see Gabrielle's excitement disappear.

The blonde sighed, "his wound is healing well and he's still asleep. Hopefully he will wake up soon and he's going to be in a lot of pain," she shook her head, thinking of that awful moment whenever that happens.

Xena folded her arms and pursed her lips. "I hope that everything is going alright in Persia."

"The Scythians were a problem before we left. I have no doubt that problem has escalated," Gabrielle hated to admit this. "Do you think we should send a message to Samuel and Eve when we get to India?"

Xena shook her head, "it won't reach them fast enough especially in this weather. I suppose we will surprise everyone," she smiled.

* * *

 

_Ujjain, Scythia_

King Nimrood sat on his horse outside of his palace with an army behind him. He turned around and smiled at them all. "The Persian Shah wants us to attack him, then we will do as he desires." He adjusted his gauntlets around his arms. "Brothers!" he announced and his men quieted down, listening carefully. "We shall to ride to the borders of Scythia and Persia and wipe out the Greek soldiers that guard the precious Persian kingdom!" his entire army cheered and lifted their swords and spears high in the air.

Nimrood smirked and whistled to the guards to open the gates to ride towards the borders between the two kingdoms. He was determined to get rid of Samuel and the entire Phraaterian line. He was sure that the wine that he gave Eve had worked by now and she would be suffering, soon meeting her death. Unfortunately for her, it would be a slow and painful death. The poison was slow reacting and extracted from a flower that grew rapidly in Scythia during the winter and spring time. Such a beautiful thing could cause so much pain and suffering, it was too easy.

He began to think about Samuel's face the moment he saw his pale wife, miserable and very ill. A smile came to him as he thought of that look on the Persian's face. Nimrood never thought that a Persian would dare marry a Greek woman especially since the empress of Greece was not too keen on having a warm relationship with the Persians. Eve was a poison and she infected Persia with her Greek traditions and free thinking spirit. He knew this to be true once he found out that Samuel appointed her to be his vizier, which never happened in Persian history. Women were not to be given the role of an advisor, it just wasn't right. He also thought that women in general should not rule at all, ruling was for men and men alone.

Xena managed to rule Greece for three decades now and her empire had expanded twice in fold the last few years. She had everything and Nimrood knew that nothing would stop her from moving forward. She allied with Assyria and Persia then claimed Rome. What next? Anatolia, the Steppes, Scythia or even Qin? She could have it all and if that were to happen, she'd have no enemies to fight with. She'd be the only ruler who oversaw everything. Every piece of land would be hers. Soon she would probably claim Britannia, the Iberian peninsula and maybe even Saxon and the rest of Greater Europe while she's at it.

Nimrood knew that Xena was basically unstoppable at this point. She would keep expanding until everything was hers, which was dangerous in itself. There was no way she could support an empire that large. She would have the entire world, though he didn't believe that she would go as far as to claim every inch of land to be hers. She already had one third of the world at her feet. He didn't want to find out what would happen if she kept going, he thought. And that's exactly why he needed to get rid of the Persian kingdom, though if he attacked them, the Greek Empire would retaliate. He was willing to take those chances.

* * *

 

_India_

The ship docked early in the morning on the coast of India and Teris along with the other five Alps tied down the ship and told the merchants down below to make sure nobody comes near the ship. Teris paid the Indians enough money, more than they had ever seen, to watch the ship. All he had were dinars, which weren't used in India usually, but they were good everywhere else if they decided to travel and everything was incredibly cheap in India, so a few dinars was a lot of money to these people.

Xena grabbed her sword and hid it under her cloak and Gabrielle followed behind her as they exited the ship. Gabrielle smiled and realized it was a lot warmer in India than it was in Qin, though it wasn't terribly hot, but it was definitely warmer. They were still dressed in layers of clothing and now that they landed here, they would definitely need to buy different clothes, though Persia was approaching the Spring season and it would start to warm up there in a few weeks unlike Qin, would remain in winter season for the next four months.

Xena and Gabrielle walked a few yards away from the dock and approached a large village area. There were so many people here and everyone was dressed so colorfully. Gabrielle and herself were dressed in all black and brown. Gabrielle's jaw dropped as her eyes danced around the different culture before them. Xena nudged her gently, "I feel like we stick out like a sore thumb," she mumbled.

Gabrielle smiled, "so does that mean we can go shopping?" she felt hopeful and Xena rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but I don't want to look ridiculous." She tread carefully through the large street and was careful not to move her leg too much, so she walked slowly, which really wasn't her thing. "Teris and the Alps are going to buy supplies for the ship. Allat is with Solan back on the ship, so it's our job to bring food."

Gabrielle nodded, "and _then_ we can buy clothes?" she wiggled her eyebrows and Xena sighed heavily. She spotted a vendor that had skirts and colorful tops. She grabbed Xena's hand and lead her to the vendor. "Ooo look, you always looked so nice in red, Xena!"

"Gabrielle!" Xena groaned as she was being dragged along. "We need to buy food first!"

She picked up a burgundy skirt and held it up to Xena's waist and Xena pushed the fabric away. "This would look nice on you," she smiled and picked up a veil and put it on Xena's head. Xena frowned and ripped the veil off. "Come on, Xena!"

"We're here to buy food and then we can buy clothes, alright?" Xena folded her arms and Gabrielle sighed, nodding her head.

* * *

 

Back on the ship Allat sat on the floor leaning against a column eating some rice and dried fish with his hands. He had been waiting for Xena and Gabrielle to return any minute now, but so far they were taking quite a long time.

Solan's eyes slowly opened and he tried to move but he felt a stabbing pain in his side. He began yelling out in pain and looked at his stitched up wound. Allat set down his bowl and ran over to him. "You're finally awake!" the Assyrian grinned and Solan breathed heavily. "Hey calm down. Gabrielle fixed you, you're going to be alright! I was worried about you –we all were," he smiled softly.

Solan laid back down and slowed his breathing. "What about my mother? Is she alright?" he asked, more concerned for her than for himself.

Allat nodded, "she's doing well. She had a few injuries in her leg, but Gabrielle helped her," he smiled.

"Gabrielle," Solan shook his head, "she is amazing. She will do anything for my mother!" he smiled. "Remind me to thank her later." He tried to sit up again and looked around to see they were in the bowels of a ship. "Are we on a ship?" he raised his eyebrow and now felt completely lost. He couldn't remember anything except being stabbed in Qin by the emperor's executioner.

Allat sighed, "Xena stole a ship in Qin." Solan blinked and he rolled his eyes. "You know how she is."

Solan agreed, "she is crazy." Then it suddenly donned on him, "what did she do with Ming Tien?" he saw Allat lower his eyes and Solan sighed. "She killed him didn't she?" Allat nodded. "Typical. She killed Phraates, Octavius and now Ming Tien."

Allat scoffed, "I think she's killed more than people than that!" he laughed loudly.

Solan sighed, "I meant emperors. She's killed three of them. Is she going to claim Qin for herself?"

Allat shrugged his shoulders, "she didn't say. I think she was more concerned about getting you to safety than anything else." Solan didn't respond and Allat was getting the feeling that he wasn't too happy about this news. Xena had killed many people in her life and she killed three emperors yes, but what is wrong with that? They all were awful people and needed to be gotten rid of. "Why are you so upset that she killed Ming Tien?"

Solan sat up and leaned on a pole behind him. He winced and held his side trying not to move too much. "Because Allat....she's unstoppable now. When she killed Marc Antony, she had no remorse over it. I was still a teenager at the time. When Phraates kidnapped Eve, she killed him too –"

"To be fair, brother, he needed to be killed. He was a tyrant and a fool," Allat placed his hand over Solan's leg. "And he kidnapped your sister!"

"I understand that. During the war, you weren't there, but my mother obliterated Octavius' army, she killed him easily. He chopped off her hair. I thought we were going to lose for sure, but she killed him. Now she killed Ming Tien! Nothing will stop her from conquering the entire world now," he sighed rubbing his forehead.

Allat sat on the table and grabbed Solan's hand in his firmly, "what is so bad about your mother ruling all of these lands? She is good at what she does."

Solan looked into his dark eyes and frowned, "I know she's good at what she does, but there is nobody left for her to fight. She is not a young empress anymore."

"No she's not and she's also not the evil empress she once was." Allat sighed and scooted closer to Solan. "Look, I'm happy to be friends with your mother and she's getting rid of the filth in the world. It's not like she's going on a killing spree for fun."

"Not like she used to..." Solan muttered. "I just hope she knows what she's doing." Allat smiled as a response and leaned in closer to him.

Gabrielle and Xena returned with bags of rice and some food already prepared that they bought from the village. They came into the room and interrupted a private moment between Solan and Allat. Gabrielle blinked her eyes and Allat stood up, immediately feeling embarrassed.

"Gabrielle, Xena," Allat smiled nervously, "you're back so soon!"

Xena's eyes widened and she held the warm clay pot of food in her hands and saw Solan was awake now and Allat was incredibly close to him. "Are we interrupting something?" she asked quietly.

Solan smirked, "no, not really," he swung his legs over the table and stood up slowly. "I'm glad to see you mother," he smiled and hugged her as she stood in shock.

Xena finally smiled and set the clay pot down on the table and hugged her son back warmly. "I'm glad to see you're awake! You've been asleep for days," she pulled away and his jaw dropped.

" _Days_? By the gods!" Solan slapped his forehead and Gabrielle smiled, setting down the bags of rice on the floor. He folded his arms and stared into his mother's big blue eyes. "So, you killed Ming Tien, huh?"

Xena sighed and lowered her eyes, "I didn't really have a choice. He was going to kill you and Allat. I couldn't let him keep corrupting his mother's kingdom."

Solan nodded, "so, are you going to rule over Qin now?" he asked more seriously.

"I just want to get back to Persia for now. The Scythian king is becoming a problem for Persia and I have a feeling that it is going to become our problem too," she frowned, just thinking about it. she didn't want to get involved in another war again, certainly not with a new king that she had never met before.

Solan frowned, not liking the sound of this. "Scythian king?" he rubbed his chin, "is Eve alright? She's not hurt is she?"

Xena shrugged a shoulder and placed her hand on her hip, "I would hope so. Samuel has his eye on her all the time."

Allat scoffed a laugh and all eyes went to him. "I'll bet he does," he smirked then Solan glared at him and his smile disappeared. "Sorry."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes, "the Scythians have been stealing money from Persia for a long time. It was brought to Samuel's attention before we left. He was supposed to negotiate with the king to return the stolen money and weapons, but we don't know if he did because we got your letter and left days after the news."

Solan pinched the bridge of his nose, "this is really bad. I don't want Eve to stay in Persia if there is going to be a war between Samuel and this Scythian king," he began pacing around the table and Xena looked to Gabrielle.

Xena walked over and placed her hands on Solan's shoulders and turned him towards her. "Solan, you don't get to make that decision. She is a Princess of Persia now."

Solan's eyes widened and he took his mother's hands off of him, "well you're the empress of Greece! You can tell her what to do!" he frowned and Xena looked at him apologetically. "Can't you?" his voice softened. "Can't you?" he whispered and Xena shook her head.

Gabrielle grabbed Solan's hand, "Solan, I know you care about your sister, but we can't tell her what to do anymore and she's made it pretty clear that she doesn't want us bossing her around," she smiled sadly.

"Well, this sucks," Solan sighed heavily. "Looks like she's not my little sister anymore," he folded his arms.

Xena smiled, "she'll always be your little sister, Solan just...your little sister with a lot of responsibility," she added and he nodded.

"We need to get back to Persia immediately then," Solan said, "when are we leaving this place?"

Gabrielle looked to Xena, "well Xena said that we are going to stay for a couple of days to resupply and buy new clothes," she scanned Solan and Allat and cringed, "and by the looks of it, you two need new clothes and probably a really long bath." She teased.

Allat smirked, "I wouldn't mind a bath," he smiled at Solan and Xena averted her eyes. "And some new clothes, as long as we can pick them out," he eyed Gabrielle, "I don't trust you."

Gabrielle gasped, "you too?!"

Xena chuckled and grabbed Gabrielle's hand leading her out of the room. "We're going back to the village to buy clothes, right Gabrielle?" she smiled. Gabrielle's face lit up at that and they left the room. Solan and Allat looked at each other and started laughing together.

Gabrielle hooked arms with Xena and smiled smugly up at her. "Looks like you won't be getting any grandchildren from Solan," she teased.

The empress smirked, "jokes on you, Gabrielle. I've always known about those two. Nobody travels to Assyria for fun," she said and Gabrielle's jaw dropped.

"Wait, you _knew_?" Gabrielle walked with her up the stairs and Xena remained silent with a sneaky smile on her lips. "Did you know about Eve and Samuel too?!"

Xena looked to her, "no, that was a surprise." She winked and Gabrielle raised an eyebrow suspiciously at her.

* * *

 

_Susa, Persia_

On a crisp winter night Samuel sat in a chair in front of the fireplace inside his bedroom after a long day talking to his court. He was tired of dealing with the councilmen and they thought they knew everything, though sometimes they ended up arguing with each other instead of solving anything. Mehmed made sure that the entire military guarded the palace walls and even sent some of the men into the city to make sure they didn't attack any of the civilians. As much as he cared about his family within the walls, he also needed to protect his people.

He had worked very hard to keep his people's trust in him over the last few years. His father lost the trust in his people quickly and he even forgot about them as he accumulated power. It worsened especially when he decided to side with the Romans against Xena, ultimately betraying the Greek empire, which was a bad move on his part. Samuel was going to make sure that his kingdom was safe, though he didn't feel very safe all of a sudden. The Scythians attacked the kingdom easily and with numerable force. He also sneakily poisoned Eve too, which was a stupid thing to do on his part. Samuel hoped that Xena would not return soon because she was going to raise hell about this, he just knew it.

If the Scythian king didn't know what Hellfire was, as the Zoroastrians say, then he would soon find out. Samuel was beginning to wonder if Nimrood was stupid or just arrogant. He was so sure that he would be safe in his little bubble up in those mountains of his. Samuel began to think that Nimrood underestimated him and his capabilities to lead an army. It was true that he had never lead an army by himself. His first war was with Xena and her entire army. During those few months he learned a lot about warfare and strategy too. He enjoyed the war, not for the killing or destroying the enemy, but for the knowledge. Xena had been in many wars and battles during her reign and it was nice to see her in action face to face. Samuel learned a lot of things during that war, and it was a long one, but he knew that particular war had been technically going on for years, over twenty years. Samuel never thought wars could last that long especially with Xena in charge, but perhaps, she was just waiting for the right time to strike and she struck alright –she won, conquered and claimed all in one day.

If there were to be a war between Persia and Scythia, he was not so sure he could lead an army solo. He didn't want to rely on the Greek Empire for constant help, though they were a nice ally to have during warfare. He sat in front of the fireplace, staring at the flames with a large frown on his face. He kept contemplating if this was even a good idea or not. Though, he was sure that he wouldn't really have a choice but to fight back if Nimrood did in fact try to attack him.

He looked outside the window and saw it was quite windy and was glad to be inside this place and have a nice warm fire beside him. Eve's condition had not yet improved much over the last week, though he had his hopes that she would recover especially with the physician there to help her. Kosem watched the children during the day and his mother, Hatima, watched them during the evenings usually. He was glad that his mother cleared her schedule in order to help while Eve was ill.

But this time, this evening, Samuel decided to watch the children for himself, something his father never had time for, or never made time for. Layla and Luca were sitting on the floor playing with a few chess pieces they found in a chest by his bed. He had been watching them for the last four hours, giving his mother a break for awhile, though he was sure she would want them back. She was definitely attached to them. He remembered spending a lot of time with Kosem during his childhood and hardly ever saw his father. He always said he was 'too busy' or he had some political matters to deal with. Growing up, he also hardly ever spent time with his mother until his father died. Though after he turned twenty, she left the palace and went on a sabbatical for five years until last year when they reunited again.

Even though he was busy with his role as king he was going to make sure that he would have some time for his children, unlike his father. Luca walked up to him carrying a Queen chess piece in his hand and showed it to him. Samuel smiled and set down his glass of wine and grabbed the piece from him. "The Queen? It's a very important piece you know –she's the most important player in the game," he winked and Luca smiled up at him.

Luca walked over and picked up the King piece and brought it to him. Samuel smiled and grabbed the second piece and nodded. "This is also important," and held both pieces together in his hands, "but not as important as the Queen." He spoke to his son as if he could understand him. He leaned down close to Luca, "you see, they work together, but if one of them dies..." he dropped the King piece and Luca's eyes widened, "then the Queen is in charge, see?" he smiled and Luca picked up the piece, examining it carefully in his small hands. "It's all politics, you know," he jested and Luca smiled widely up at him.

Hatima walked into the room and saw Samuel talking to Luca, both obviously have a deep conversation about chess. She smiled and folded her arms watching from afar. Layla was busy organizing the chess pieces on the floor, completely oblivious to what was around her. Must be nice to be a child again, she thought.

Samuel picked up Luca and set him in his lap. Luca stared up at him and grabbed his turban, instantly attracted to the jewels in the center of the turban. Samuel took off the turban and set it on Luca's small head, adjusting the feather accordingly. The turban slipped down on his head and covered half of his face. Luca giggled and lifted the turban slightly, peeking up at the king. "It looks nice on you," Samuel joked.

Layla lifted her head and saw Hatima in the doorway and smiled at her, pointing at her. Samuel turned his head and saw his mother standing there, watching the entire time. "What are you doing in here so late?" he smirked.

She walked over to Layla and picked her up in her arms. "I was just checking on you all," she smiled.

Samuel nodded, "I'm not bad at this, you know," he teased and his mother chuckled softly. He looked up at her with a solemn face, "have you seen Eve?"

Hatima nodded her head, "yes I have and I wanted to let you know that her fever has broken an hour ago. She is doing a lot better now."

He smiled at that good news, "finally! Now Xena won't kill me."

"She wouldn't do that. It wasn't your fault," Hatima said and he had to agree with that. "She is finally able to stomach water now. If it wasn't the poison that would kill her, it would have been dehydration," she said bluntly and saw her son's eyes widen in fear. "But she's doing alright right now."

He stood up and set Luca down on the ground. "Can I see her now?" he asked, hoping he could.

Hatima sighed and Luca stood up holding onto Samuel's leg, wrapping his arms around him. "Well, I think you should let her rest, but I think she'd be happy to see you," she said with a weak smile. Samuel began walking and Luca was glued to his leg. "He wants you," she smiled.

Samuel groaned and he looked down at his son who was refusing to let go. "I guess I can take him with me," he lifted his son his arms and Luca smiled, resting his head on his chest. He began walking away and Layla stretched out her hand towards her brother and frowned. Hatima stared at her and Samuel heard some whimpering from Layla. He turned and saw his infant daughter starting to cry. "Okay then, I'll take them both," he sighed and grabbed Layla with his free arm and Hatima folded her arms.

"Are you sure you can handle both of them?" she teased.

"I got this handled," he grinned and left the room to walk down the hallway to see Eve with both of the children his arms.

* * *

 

Eve sat up in the bed and a maid was making her drink some warm broth to soak up the minerals. She saw the guard open the door and frowned, trying to see who was in the dark room. She set the bowl down in her lap then realized it was Samuel, carrying Luca and Layla in his arms. She smiled at them all and the maid lowered her eyes then left the bed and took the tray with her.

Samuel grinned, "I brought some visitors," he stood beside the bed and set both of the children on the bed. Eve hadn't been able to see them all in more than a week and was really ecstatic to see them, finally. "I was watching them for awhile and they wanted to come with me as soon as my mother told me of your recovery."

Eve smiled and sat up in the bed then Layla crawled over and sat in her lap. " _You_ were watching them?" she lifted her eyebrow.

He folded his arms, "is that so hard to believe?" he felt almost insulted.

"I thought you would be busy, that's all..." she coughed and he frowned, seeing her pale complexion and how thin she got over the last week. Layla frowned up at her and touched her face. Eve smiled and grabbed her tiny hand. "Thank you for taking care of them."

He sat on the bed and brushed a tendril behind her ear. "I would make time for them, even if I was extremely tired, but you must be exhausted," she nodded in response. "Do you feel better?" he stared in her eyes.

She sighed, "a little bit," she drank some water and he kept smiling at her. "What?" she smiled nervously.

"Nothing, I'm just glad to see you are feeling better." He looked at Layla who was now falling asleep in Eve's lap and Luca curled up against her leg, sleeping already. "And they are too," he shook his head.

She smiled at them both and ran her fingers through Layla's dark hair. "Have you heard from Gabrielle or my mother?" she whispered.

He shook his head, "nothing in the last couple of weeks." He saw the disappointment in her eyes and he grabbed her hand firmly, "but that could be a good thing. We should hope for the best, right?" he kissed her hand and she nodded. "I'm going to kill Nimrood for he did to you."

Eve's eyes widened, "Samuel, he is an arrogant king. He's waiting for you to attack him. Don't let me be the reason you go to war."

"He poisoned you! You are the princess of Greece and Persia! Mother of my children, my heirs of this kingdom. You were invited into his home and he tried to kill you covertly. That is an act of war by proxy," he said and she sighed, lowering her eyes, staring at Layla sleeping in her arms. "And he probably would have killed them too if he had the chance." Speaking of the slumbering children on the bed.

She was about to say something until Mehmed ran into the room. The general halted as soon as he saw the king with his wife and children. He cleared his throat, "your majesty..." he said softly, not to wake the small children.

Samuel stood up, "what is it, Mehmed?" he frowned.

"The Queen told me I'd find you here," he whispered and grabbed the king's arm, pulling him aside. "Nimrood has invaded our border and killed all of the Greek soldiers," he said in a harsh urgent voice.

Samuel's frown deepened and rubbed his chin. Eve tried to listen to them both, "what's going on?" she asked.

The king turned to her, "you stay here with the children. I have something I need to do," he walked away hastily with Mehmed trailing behind him. Eve's jaw dropped and felt completely in the dark. She wanted to follow them and find out what happened, but it probably wasn't the wisest decision. She sighed and rested on the pillows. Layla stirred in her sleep and stretched out her long legs, snuggling against her chest.

* * *

 

Samuel walked down the hallway with the general and saw a slew of his military standing in the throne room waiting for him. Hatima stood waiting for him as well. "What happened?" he asked one of the men.

The soldier bowed his head curtly, "your highness, King Nimrood killed all of our Greek brothers. It was an ambush. One of them was able to escape and rode all the way here with the news," he spoke quickly.

Samuel frowned, "where is this Greek soldier?" he asked and Mehmed cleared his throat. "Where is he?" he demanded.

"He died not long after arriving, afendim. He had severe wounds. It was a miracle that he made it here the way he did," he said and that enraged the king even more.

"Fantastic," Samuel said sarcastically. "I want our best archers to go to the border immediately," he demanded and his men remained stoned. "I said I want our best archers..."

Mehmed tapped the king's shoulder and her turned to him with an irate face, "sir, I don't think that is a wise idea. He might have people already crossing the border as we speak. If we send our men out there, it would be suicide."

Samuel huffed, "then what am I going to do?! I can't just sit here and let that idiot invade my kingdom!"

The general understood the king's apprehension over this situation. "I understand that, but the border is at least two days ride from here, your majesty. We are only a few miles from the Persian Gulf. It would be an easy escape route if we act quickly.."

The king smiled and folded his arms, "Mehmed, are you suggesting that I flee from my kingdom?" he eyed the general and saw his eyes lower.

"It would be the best decision, your highness," Mehmed admitted.

"I'm staying right now. I'm not going anywhere! I want my men guarding Susa right now!" he raised his voice and Mehmed sighed. "If Nimrood wants to attack my kingdom, then let him. He's not brave enough to come marching into my city."

"Yes, my king," Mehmed nudged his head to the soldiers and they left the throne room to find archers to guard the entire city walls.

Hatima came to stand by her son and she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Samuel, we don't have enough men to guard the entire empire. It's too much land to cover in a short amount of time."

He sighed and clenched his jaw, "we're going to need more of Xena's men."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Eve can't send more men out there. She is unfit to make a decision like that right now. This is going to cost the kingdom quite a lot of money to employ Greek soldiers."

He nodded, "I know. I just need Eve to sign a document and I can use more of Xena's men, but they won't be here in time..." he groaned.

"You don't even know if Nimrood has invaded Persia yet. It will be best to use our own men first then use Xena's as a last resort..." she suggested and he finally relented, agreeing with her.

* * *

 

_India_

Allat and Solan found some black pants to wear with white vests as well. They even bought shoes that reminded them of the kind of shoes Samuel wore. They were quite decorative and were pointed at the tips. Allat stared at himself in the mirror and brushed through his dark wavy shoulder length hair. "This is definitely not my style."

Solan raised an eyebrow and ruffled his thick blonde hair. "I'll say. Have you seen Gabrielle?" he smiled and Allat turned to see Gabrielle wearing an orange skirt with a top, showing her midriff with a veil over her short blonde locks.

"And...your mother?" he whispered.

Gabrielle pulled Xena out of the dressing room and Xena was trying not to leave. "Xena, come on! It will look amazing on you!" she smiled and finally pulled her out. Xena had a big frown on her face. She felt so out of place. Gabrielle picked out a red long, sleeveless red dress with gold trim. "See, you look nice," she smiled and pointed to the mirror. Xena's eyes widened.

Allat's eyes widened as well, "your mother should dress like that more often," he teased and Solan frowned then punched him in the arm.

"That's my mother you're talking about," Solan folded his arms.

"What? She looks good," Allat tried to save himself and rubbed his arm.

Xena shied away from the mirror and saw her son and Allat gawking at her. "Remind me to burn this when I get to Persia," she mumbled and grabbed her black cloak, slipping it over her body. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and trailed behind her. Xena stopped and pointed her finger at Solan's mischievous grin, "not a word from either of you," she raised an eyebrow.

Solan put up his hands, "wouldn't think of it..." he stifled a laugh and his mother eyed him carefully. "I didn't say anything!" he pleaded and Xena groaned then brushed right passed them. Solan began laughing and Gabrielle hit him in his arm. "Geez!" he cringed and rubbed his arm.

"How does it feel?" Allat teased then followed behind Gabrielle.

They walked through the street and Xena felt like everyone was looking at them and felt so awkward. It was bad enough that she was dressed like she was going to a party, but also, she had quite a diverse entourage with her. Solan limped over to her and hooked arms with her. "When are we leaving this place? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want to go to Persia so badly," he smiled.

"We're leaving tonight," she mumbled.

Gabrielle whined, "I want to stay longer! It's so peaceful here! Look at this place! Why can't all places be like India?" she smiled enjoying the scenery around them.

"We have bigger things to worry about, Gabrielle," Xena said, crushing Gabrielle's dreams.

Allat nodded, looking around at the crowded street. "I'll say. Those Scythians are ruthless. Hopefully they haven't tried to attack Persia."

"They already have," Xena said as they tried to break through the sea of people. She was starting to feel very claustrophobic being around all these people.

Solan saw a statue of someone in the middle of the square and walked over to it, diverting from his group. Gabrielle sighed and Allat followed behind him. She grabbed Xena's arm and she turned to see Solan wandering off. "Where is he going?" she was starting to get annoyed.

He came to the statue and didn't recognize the person, though he was sure he wouldn't anyway, considering he wasn't from here. "Who's this fellow?" he smiled and waltzed around the statue. He was wearing armor and had a scimitar glued to his hip. "Nice craftsmanship," he nodded, admiring the fine stone work of the artist.

Allat folded his arms, "you don't know the King of India?" he said as if Solan knew.

Gabrielle frowned, "India has a king?"

Xena shook her head, "that's it, now we're definitely getting out of here! I don't want to deal with anymore monarchs," she saw Allat give her a look, "no offense," she smiled tightly.

Allat shrugged his shoulder, "I don't expect you to understand monarchy, Xena. You are an empress after all, not a queen. Monarchy is family lineage like it is in my kingdom and Samuel's."

Gabrielle smirked, "well you kind of are a queen," she got a glare from Xena. "You have Solan and Eve as your heirs. Their titles are princess and prince." She said and noticed Xena was not having any part of this. "Empress it is," she smiled nervously.

"We're leaving," Xena said and all three of them kept looking at the statue. "Hello?" she said and finally Solan snapped to.

"Right mother, of course," he smiled and followed behind her with Allat and Gabrielle trailing.

 

 

 


	48. Chapter 48

**AN: I will wrap up this story very soon as the ties come closing in! Luca and Layla are quite funny and are a handful...lol enjoy ;)**

Chapter 48

Teris docked the ship at the port of Susa after they finally departed from India. Etrut and Solan began lowering the large sails, pulling on the ropes together. As they were lowering the sails two arrows were shot right through the sails. Solan gasped then another arrow came flying towards him and he ducked his head.

Etrut frowned, "what are they doing?!" he growled and ducked down as more arrows were shot at them.

Solan crawled on the deck of the ship and peeked his head over the railing and saw Samuel's elite guards shooting arrows at the ship continuously. "They think we are from Qin!" noting that this ship was stolen from the kingdom of Qin, the Persian soldiers obviously thought they were being invaded. Etrut sighed and ducked as another arrow flew by his head, scraping his sleeve, almost drawing blood. Solan stood up waving his arms, "hold your fire!" he yelled out and the Persians stopped shooting their arrows.

Xena and Gabrielle emerged from the bowels of the ship and saw the deck was filled with arrows. Solan trying to wave them down and Etrut rubbing his arm, in shock. Xena frowned and looked over the railing. The Persian soldiers gasped and bowed their heads once they saw her. "What a  _nice_  welcome..." she said sarcastically and Gabrielle chuckled.

"They must have thought we were coming to invade them," Gabrielle noted and the sails were finally lowered after that unusual greeting from the Persians.

* * *

After they set foot on Persian soil they entered the palace. Xena and Gabrielle walked hastily into the throne room to see Samuel standing beside his mother with a big smile on his face. The orator was standing by the door and began announcing Xena's name. "Empress of Greece, Conqueror of Rome –"

Xena halted and glared at the man, instantly shutting him up. She hated when he did that and she knew it was his job to do so, but she really hated the formal introductions especially since he was in every room ready to announce anyone of importance entering the room. "Thank you," she smiled tightly and continued walking forward with Gabrielle by her side.

Samuel smiled, thankful to see that everyone was alive and well. "Xena, I'm so glad you made it back!" he reached forward and hugged her. Her eyes widened at such warmth from him, not used to him reacting like this. "And Gabrielle!" he embraced her and Gabrielle chuckled, barely able to breathe.

"Nice to see you too, Samuel," Gabrielle pat the king's back and he pulled away, smiling at Solan and Allat behind them both.

Solan and Allat walked forward and Samuel grinned at them, embracing them both at once. "I owe you so much, Samuel," the Assyrian said.

Samuel pulled away, kissing his cheeks, "you don't owe me anything brother. I'm just glad Xena and Gabrielle brought you two back alive!"

"Barely," Solan added with a small chuckle and that worried the king. He shook his head, dismissing it. "A lot happened, too much to explain," he said though that didn't make the Persian feel better at all.

Xena folded her arms looking around for Eve, but she wasn't here and expected her to be. "Where is my daughter?" she turned to Samuel. Hatima looked to her son with solemn eyes and both Persians fell silent. "What happened?" instantly worried and filled with anger already. Of course, there had to be something that went wrong while she was away. It never failed.

Hatima stepped forward, "Eve was poisoned by the Scythian king when she traveled to Ujjain."

Gabrielle gasped and Xena frowned, narrowing her eyes. "What was she doing in Ujjain?"

Samuel thought it best that he were to be the one who explained this one, "I appointed Eve as my vizier after I killed Jazar for his treasonous acts against me and my kingdom. I sent her as an emissary to negotiate with the king one last time. When she returned, she was extremely ill and has been in bed for the last few weeks trying to recover."

Solan blinked, "wow, Eve is a vizier!" he smiled, nodding his head quite proud of his little sister. "So, when do we kill this Scythian king?" he smirked at the Persian king.

Xena glared at her son, "we're not going to kill anybody else. This is not our fight. This is between Scythia and Persia, not Greece."

Though, Samuel wished that were true but he hated to give Xena even more awful news. She hadn't even been in Persia for more than ten minutes and already she was bombarded with so much information. He stepped forward, "actually, Xena..." he began and she lifted an eyebrow at him. He instantly felt like he was talking to his own mother, all mothers had the same disapproving, frightening facial expressions to scare even an adult child. "Eve permitted some of your men to guard the borders of Persia and Scythia. They were killed by Nimrood's men a week ago." Xena's eyes widened in fury and he backed away, fearful of her reaction, though she remained quiet. "I haven't asked to use any more of your men until you returned and since Eve is still unwell, I didn't want to bother her..."

"You have made this ridiculous quarrel my problem now, Samuel," Xena snarled and he smiled nervously, feeling like an embarrassed child. "I do not want to be involved in this at all. I am finished with wars and battles over money and land." She threw her hands in the air, "I rule all of Greece, Rome and Qin!" Samuel's eyes widened at that news.

"you killed Ming Tien?" he asked and she nodded.

"Yes, I did. Qin is mine. Don't make me take your land as well, Samuel," she hissed and he took another step backward, bumping into his throne chair. "I would wipe out Scythia in a matter of hours. This war will take many years for you to rid yourself of the Scythian king and his people." She frowned and he creased his eyebrows, now feeling insulted. "I am not going to give you any of my men for the sake of this war between two young kings that obviously do not know what they are doing."

Gabrielle's eyes grew in shock as she listened to Xena. She was obviously extremely upset and though she knew that Xena was tired of wars and battles. She was twice Samuel's age and had far more experience than him. Perhaps their journey to Qin was the last time she'd ever see Xena fight again. She was too old, too tired and drained from constant war for more than thirty years. "Xena..." she touched her arm and Xena held up her hand, holding her breath.

Samuel rested his hands on his hips, "Xena, I am still king of Persia and you are on my soil now. You must remember your place."

Xena smiled, nodding her head, " _my_  place?" she pointed to herself, "you are married to my daughter, so do not forget  _your_  place," she pointed to him and he grunted, quite annoyed at her behavior, though he wasn't going to retaliate against her because that would probably end badly and even more embarrassing on his part. "I'm going to see my daughter now," she turned to Gabrielle, "are you coming?"

Gabrielle was definitely not going to refuse and she joined Xena, walking down the hall together to Eve's room. Solan, Allat and Samuel stood in the room together awkwardly in silence. Solan exhaled slowly, "so...any  _good_  news?" he smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Samuel groaned and immediately left the room with his mother following behind. Allat turned to Solan, "nice going," he chided, jabbing him in the ribs.

"I was just trying to make conversation!" Solan rubbed his side, frowning.

"Your mother is really ticked off, Solan. I say we should stay out of her way..." Allat suggested and Solan nodded.

"I agree," he sighed then linked arms with the Assyrian king. "So when shall we return to Palmyra? I know my mother and Gabrielle will return to Rome and not that I don't love them, but I really don't have to live with those two..." his eyes pleaded and Allat laughed at him, as they walked together to go sit outside in the gardens. "Hey, it wasn't a joke!"

* * *

Xena and Gabrielle walked into Eve's room without knocking or even announcing themselves. Eve sat up in bed as one of the maids was giving her some soup. She smiled seeing them both enter her room. "Gabrielle! Mother!" she tried to get up and Xena raised her hand up. Eve relaxed but the smile was plastered on her lips. "I'm so happy to see you both!" she coughed and Gabrielle smiled sadly, seeing how she pale she was and how thin she became.

"Samuel told me what happened to you," Xena sat on the edge of the bed, brushing her daughter's loose hair strands away from her face.

Gabrielle sat on the other side of the bed and grabbed Eve's hand. "Are you feeling better?"

"A little bit," the princess admitted, though she was sort of embarrassed to say she was poisoned by the stupid Scythian king and of course, her mother was gone when all this mayhem happened, as usual. "Are Allat and Solan alright?" Gabrielle nodded in response and Eve smiled, happy to hear that, at least there was one good thing about all of this.

Xena smirked, "so I hear you are the new vizier..." she slyly slipped that in and Eve smiled, nodding her head. "How did that happen?" curiously she wondered that, though she was too upset earlier to even ask Samuel about it.

Eve shrugged her shoulder, "he just appointed me after Jazar was gotten rid of..." she sighed. "It's a lot of work!" she saw her mother and Gabrielle share a look with each other. "I will never take your job for granted again, mother," she kept shaking her head, thinking of all the stress she would have to endure once she fully recovered. Though, she was thankful that Hatima was filling in for her at the moment.

Xena smiled, appreciating Eve's gratitude and she now finally understood what it meant to rule as a leader or even advisor. Gabrielle was skilled in that department and truthfully did most of the background work while Xena remained head figure. Gabrielle definitely had the harder job out of both. "This problem with Samuel and Nimrood is going to last a long time, Eve..." she began and saw her daughter's face contort, confused. "I'm not going to allow Samuel to use my men for this impending battle."

Eve's eyes widened, "but mother, his army is not as big as yours! It will take so long to be rid of Nimrood! I thought you would be on our side..." she said sadly.

Xena sighed, not wishing to crush her daughter's spirit but she too had her own problems to deal with. "Eve, Scythia is not my problem. You used Greek soldiers without my permission and I will not allow any more of my soldiers to be killed during this ridiculous feud between these young kings," she frowned and Eve sat up straighter, leaning on the pillows.

"So what exactly are you saying?" the princess folded her arms.

Gabrielle looked to Xena and was completely lost. For once, she had no idea what was going on in Xena's mind. Usually she could read her so well but after that little tiff back there with Samuel, she had no idea what Xena was going to say.

The empress grabbed Eve's hand and looked into her worried eyes. "It is too dangerous for you to stay here and –"

Eve frowned, "I won't go back with you, mother. I am the vizier and I have to stay here!" she snatched her hand from her mother.

Xena raised her eyebrow, slowly retracting her hand. "You didn't let me finish," she said and Eve relaxed. "I know you are the vizier and it's now your royal duty to stay here in Persia." She saw her daughter's eyes soften a bit, now seeing she was being reasonable. "The Scythians are not going to stop attacking Persia until Samuel kills off their king, which will be difficult," she exhaled softly, not ready to see the reaction of Eve after she was to suggest this. "Since I think it is unsafe, I want to take Luca and Layla with me to Rome."

Eve's eyes widened and she shook her head, "no! If you take them I won't be able to see them for many months," she folded her arms and her eyes filled with tears. She looked to Gabrielle for help, "Gabrielle, convince her to allow them to stay here," she pleaded.

Gabrielle gave her an apologetic smile and rubbed her arm gently. Eve gasped and turned to her mother's blank face, though her eyes were sorrowful. Xena smiled sadly and wiped a tear streaming down her daughter's cheek. "They will be safe with me and Gabrielle in Rome," she hoped that would make her feel better, though she knew that wouldn't be enough to fill the void inside her.

"You can come and visit of course!" Gabrielle said and Eve sobbed quietly, burying her face in her hands. She turned to Xena and looked to her for help. "Xena, can I talk to you for a minute?" she smiled tightly and Xena sighed, getting off the bed.

Gabrielle pulled her aside and frowned, "what the hell, Xena?!" she whispered. "You didn't tell me about this little plan of yours..."

Xena folded her arms, "if I did you probably would have refused," she said and Gabrielle groaned, knowing that Xena was right. "It will be better this way, Gabrielle. Nimrood has already attacked Persia twice and poisoned Eve. What's to stop him from hurting the children too?"

Gabrielle nodded, realizing she had a point. She turned and saw Eve sobbing to herself in her bed. "She is really upset..." she sighed, not liking to see her like this and she hardly ever saw Eve cry and when she did, it was usually for a good reason.

"I know," Xena said sadly. She hated to upset her own daughter, though she wanted to make sure nothing else happened to her. "She will get over it and come to see that I made the right decision," she smiled, hoping that Eve would see the light later.

Xena came over and sat beside Eve, "don't cry," she smiled, wiping her tears for her. Eve breathed heavily and stared into her mother's warm eyes. "You will thank me for this later." She kissed her forehead.

Gabrielle leaned on the bed post, staring at Eve. "I will write to you a lot," she smiled and Eve finally smiled, happy to hear that.

"But I will...I will miss them so much," Eve began sobbing again and Xena held her finger up and Eve stared at her.

"No crying!" Xena reprimanded and Eve halted, her eyes widened at her unexpected firm voice. "Gabrielle and I will take care of them for you. When the war is over, you will have them back," she said, "do you understand?" she asked and Eve slowly nodded, a bit afraid of her now. Xena smiled, "good."

Eve sighed and wiped her cheeks, "I can visit them often, right?" she hoped.

Xena smiled, "of course. I'm not keeping them as hostages," she chuckled and Eve smiled at her mother's jesting. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and tapped her arm, waiting on Xena.

* * *

_A Few Years Later_

In Rome, Luca and Layla, now four years old, stayed in the large palace during the ongoing war between Persia and Scythia. Samuel had lost a lot of men during the war, though he feared that Nimrood was not going to give up and continued attacking the border while remaining in his home. Samuel and Eve were busy trying to come up with plans to distract the Scythian king and attack his men through an ambush.

Meanwhile in Rome, Xena had discussed with Gabrielle to rebuild another palace in Athens. She grew tired of living in Rome and even though she had worked hard for over thirty years to claim the land of the Caesarian line, Athens was definitely her home. She missed it and had longed to be there ever since she was a teenager. When she finally claimed Athens, she never wanted to leave, though Octavius did give her that option to stay. So, in the end, she took his home.

Gabrielle agreed to help Xena rebuild a new palace in Athens, while restoring the old palace into a university for all students in Greece. Xena still kept her promise to allow all students free tuition and even welcomed other students from different lands, such as Carthage, Assyria, Anatolia and Persia, even Qin if they were willing to travel that far.

Eve was able to visit her children once a year since the war began. Eve was able to update them monthly on how the war was going and Gabrielle suspected that Eve was secretly asking for her mother's help due to their large losses of men, especially over the last six months.

Though, Xena was not willing to give Samuel any of her men for this war because she did not want to be involved in anything anymore. She was done with war and if someone decided to attack her first, then of course she would retaliate, but she did not want to be used as a backup for her allies. She was indeed Persia's ally and friend, but she had used many of her men already. The only reason Samuel aided in the war with Octavius was because of Eve and the Romans trying to take over Persia to piss off Xena and crush her empire.

Without Xena's aid, Eve had to look elsewhere for help, knowing that her mother was not going to give them aid through men. Xena was not so heartless though as she sent Persia food, grain and wine during the last two years, as well as extra weaponry to aid them against the Scythians. She would not give them her men, but sent other vices until the war would end.

Four months ago, Allat decided to aid Persia in the fight against Nimrood because the Scythian king decided to attack Assyria's capital, Palmyra, shortly after Samuel decided to blow up one of Nimrood's largest forts on the border of both kingdoms. Thus, this ended badly for both sides and ultimately dragged in Allat to fight with Persia. Allat's kingdom had just finished recovering from the Roman raid a few years ago and just as the economy was heading into the right direction, his kingdom was struck with the debt of war. Solan was able to convince his mother to send money to Assyria to help with the economy so their people would not starve.

Xena sat in her office and had created a model of her new palace that was currently being built in Athens and had been in production for the last half of the year. She leaned in closely on her desk and placed another block on the map and smiled, finally finishing the masterpiece. This new palace was three times as large as her last one, but this time it would not be secluded like her previous home. It would remain in the center of the city and allow everyone to come into certain parts of the palace. The east and west wings would be reserved for the public while the north and south wings would belong to her, Gabrielle and the rest of her family if they chose to visit.

She heard some crunching sounds and frowned, peering over the front of her desk and saw Luca munching on a cookie, smiling up at her. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

Xena put her hands on her hips and smirked at the little boy, "did you steal that cookie?"

His eyes widened and he stuffed the remainder of the cookie in his mouth, " _nooo_ ," he mumbled with his cheeks filled with cookie crumbs. He grinned up at her with chipmunk cheeks. She sighed and then he ran away out of her office. She walked following him and saw him round the corner hastily.

She smirked and went the opposite direction down a separate hallway and heard his small footsteps coming this way. She hid in the hallway then heard him coming closer to her. She peered out the corner of the hallway and grabbed him as he ran by. He squealed and she lifted him up, holding him in her arms.

Gabrielle came running and heard Luca screaming and then realized Xena had him and he was laughing. She sighed in relief. "Gods, I thought something happened," she smiled. Xena turned around and Luca's laughing slowed down.

"We have a cookie thief, Gabrielle," Xena teased and Luca giggled, covering his mouth.

Gabrielle walked forward and smirked up at the four year old, "oh really?" she eyed Xena, "how should we punish the thief?"

Luca pointed to himself, " _me_?" he said innocently, "I'm no thief, Gabby," he slyly smiled and Xena smiled at the boy and ruffled his dark wavy locks.

"Where is Layla?" Xena asked and adjusted Luca on her hip. The two walked together down the hallway and Gabrielle pointed to the atrium. Xena looked out the window and saw Layla sitting in the dirt, digging with her fingers. "I see..." she observed that Layla was quite focused.

"She told me, and I quote, ' I don't want to be disturbed'," she chuckled and Xena's eyes widened.

Luca yawned and tapped Xena's shoulder, "when can I see mommy?" he pouted as he hadn't seen Eve for a long time now. She came to visit three months ago.

Xena smiled sadly at the boy, "she's very busy right now." She saw the disappointed expression on his little face and Gabrielle grinned weakly at Xena, feeling sorry for him. "Would you like to write a letter to her?" she asked and his eyes lit up, nodding his head vigorously. "Alright then," she set him down on the floor and pushed him gently towards Gabrielle. "Gabrielle can write the letter for you."

Luca smiled and grabbed Gabrielle's hand, pulling her along down the hallway. "Come on Gabby!" he urged her and she looked to Xena, smiling.

"Whoa, okay, okay!" Gabrielle skipped ahead to walk alongside Luca as he dragged her to the library.

Xena watched Luca drag Gabrielle down the hallway and chuckled to herself. She decided to go outside to see what Layla was working on so diligently. Layla was digging in the dirt and Xena saw she was building a castle of some sort. She smiled and knelt down. "What are you working on?" she said and Layla gasped, not noticing she was nearby.

"You scared me!" Layla smiled and Xena sat down, crossing her legs examining her work. "I'm making a castle." She molded a new building and Xena grinned, admiring her work.

"It looks very nice," she complimented her and Layla smiled, molding the dirt with her small hands. Xena ran her fingers through Layla's long wavy reddish brown hair. "What is it a castle of?" she pried, quite curious.

Layla pursed her lips, frowning as she was having trouble molding the dirt to fit her design. "My home," she said and finally finished molding the building. "In Persia," she smiled.

Xena nodded, "you don't remember much of Persia do you?" Layla shook her head and that saddened Xena that she would not see Persia until the war was over, though she knew it was for the best for now. "You will see your home again, Layla," she kissed the top of her head.

Layla wiped her hands on her freshly cleaned dress and turned to Xena with a big smile on her face. Her cheeks were dirty and Xena shook her head at her. "I made a friend," she said and grunted, getting up off the soil. Xena lifted an eyebrow and saw the little girl walk over to a cage that was sitting on the ground next to the grape vines.

"You made a friend?" Xena was almost afraid. Layla giggled, opening the cage and walked over to Xena holding a big furry spider in her hands. Xena smiled seeing the spider crawl all over Layla's arms. "What's his name?"

Layla smiled, "Jason," she pet the spider's furry abdomen and Xena nodded her head.

"I used to have a pet spider named Zoe. She was your mother's best friend," she poked Layla's nose and the girl's mouth gaped wide open.

" _Reaaaally_?" she couldn't believe it and Xena chuckled softly, nodding. She couldn't help but laugh at Layla's expression, it was adorable. It reminded her of when Eve was a little girl. She was amazed by the smallest things. Must be nice, she told herself. "When will I see her again?" she asked as the spider crawled up to her neck and nestled in her hair comfortably.

Xena rubbed Layla's arm and smiled weakly, "soon."

"You promise?" Layla lifted her chin, folding her arms.

The empress tried not to laugh and she nodded, "I promise," she extended her hand and Layla smiled, shaking her hand. She stood up and leaned forward, suddenly feeling very devious at the moment. "Hey, what do you say we show Gabrielle your new friend?" she smiled smugly and Layla's eyes widened with excitement.

"Okay!" she grabbed Xena's hand and both went inside the palace. Xena couldn't wait to see Gabrielle's face when she was met with a spider.

* * *

Gabrielle sat at a desk writing a letter to Eve, per Luca's words of course. She smiled as he paced around the room, speaking his mind. "What else do you want me to say?" she asked, dipping the quill in the ink.

He rubbed his chin then jumped onto the sofa, and gasped loudly, "that I miss her," he smiled and Gabrielle nodded, writing down his words. "And I love her too," he added and she kept writing silently. "And baba too," he made sure to mention his father as well, though he didn't remember what he looked like and hadn't seen him in three years since he was a baby, his mother always said good things about him.

Xena walked in with Layla and Luca turned to see his sister. Xena put a finger to her lips to make sure Luca remained quiet while Gabrielle was busy writing, completely oblivious. She pushed Layla forward and felt a bit of evil come over her, waiting for Gabrielle to see the horrible spider, the thing she hated the most. She could kill anyone that came near her, except when it was a spider, she ran and cringed.

Layla casually walked up to Gabrielle and tugged on her skirt. "Gabby, you wanna see my friend?" she said sweetly.

Gabrielle smiled and sighed, setting the quill down. She turned in her chair and Layla stuck a big furry spider in her face. Her eyes widened and she yelped, knocking herself out of the chair and onto the floor. Luca began laughing and Layla peered over the chair. "Are you okay?" she asked in her sweet innocent voice.

Xena chuckled, covering her mouth and Gabrielle stood up, brushing her hands down her bodice and skirt. She saw Xena laughing over in a corner and she frowned. "That is just cruel, Xena," she shook her head, folding her arms.

Layla came around the desk and smiled, "this is Jason. He's nice!" she lifted the spider up and Gabrielle cringed, backing away.

"Yes, I'm sure he is..." she smiled nervously and bumped into a shelf. "You can go back to your grandma... _please_ ," she begged, continuing to back away and Layla shrugged her shoulders then walked back over to Xena.

"Still afraid of spiders, Gabrielle?" Xena teased.

"That's not funny Xena. It wasn't funny back then and it's not funny now!" she groaned and Luca sat upside down on the sofa. She quirked her mouth and leaned down, staring into his green eyes. "What are you doing?" she mused.

He giggled, "silly Gabby, I'm upside down,  _see_!" he waved his hands in the air and she shook her head at him.

"Right, silly me," the blonde chuckled and went back to the desk to finish writing the letter to Eve before delivering it to the messenger so he could take it to Susa.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Eve came inside from speaking to Mehmed about advancing their front against Nimrood's men, though she feared that this was going to be harder than she thought. Samuel walked by her and was not happy. "What is the report?" he asked her as they walked together swiftly down the long hallway.

She sighed, "we were able to knock down all of his forts on the border, but he still has a lot of men close to Assyria right now."

He groaned, "what did Allat and Solan have to report?"

She pulled out a parchment from her bag and unrolled it, reading it over quickly, "Allat says..." she squinted her eyes trying to read the bad handwriting, "...his men are winning over on his side. Two of Nimrood's fronts have retreated as of last week," she smiled and he rubbed his chin, noting that was one good thing he had heard all day.

He halted and placed his hands on her shoulders, "this isn't going to stop like your mother said..." he sighed, thinking he was foolish and Xena was always right. She was very experienced and he was not. "I am going to have to kill Nimrood myself for this to stop."

Eve's eyes widened, "but Samuel, that is dangerous."

"And this is stupid! Two years and he won't stop attacking my kingdom! I have lost hundreds of men and money because of this war, Eve!" he began pacing around and she watched him, her eyes dancing back and forth. "I will kill him," he was determined now.

A messenger came running up to Eve, bowing his head, he lifted up a scroll with a Greek seal on it. she smiled knowing that was from her mother and thanked the man. She ripped open the scroll and Samuel stopped, looking at her happy face. He saw the seal and smiled.

"Your mother?" he asked and she nodded, reading over the message quickly. "What does it say?" he wrapped his arm around her slender waist.

She felt tears forming in her eyes and he immediately became concerned. She turned to his face and chuckled softly, "Gabrielle says that they are doing well in Rome. Luca says he misses us and loves us," she smiled and he brought her closer to him. "Asad likes them too," remembering the giant black leopard that she brought home from Egypt years ago. She was surprised that her mother decided to keep that giant cat.

"When this is all over, I can't wait to see them," he smiled, kissing her cheek softly. She then buried her face in her hands and sobbed. He never liked to see her upset and that was pretty rare in itself. "Don't cry! You will see them again," he rubbed her arms and she shook her head.

"But, I want them here with  _me_ ," she sobbed more and he sighed, bringing her close to him and wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed in his chest.

Hatima rounded the corner and saw her son hugging Eve and heard her muffled cries. He saw his mother and shook his head. She smiled sadly, seeing the letter in his hands. She realized that Eve really missed her children, but Xena was correct to take them to Rome with her during this war. The palace had been attacked three times in the last two years and who knows what would have happened to them if they were still here.

She walked over and grabbed Eve, bringing her close to her, relieving Samuel. He silently thanked her and rolled up the scroll, tucking it in his coat. Eve's breathing became labored and she looked up to Hatima. The Persian queen smiled and brushed a few tendrils away from Eve's face. "Your mother is taking good care of them, don't worry," she reassured her and the princess nodded, though she missed them, she knew that her mother would protect them and keep them safe from harm's way.

Eve wiped her eyes and her breathing came back to normal after a few minutes. "Their birthday is in a few months," she smiled, "I want to see them on their birthday," she turned to Samuel and he smiled softly at her.

"I'm sure they will be very happy to see you," he said, though he wanted to see his own children as well, he knew he had to stay here and make sure nothing bad happened to his people and his kingdom.

* * *

Xena walked down the hallway and saw Gabrielle reading to Luca and Layla in the atrium. Autumn was here and it was very nice outside. She leaned against a column, observing Gabrielle tell her stories. She was so good at it and the children enjoyed listening to her stories.

"And then Zeus came down and struck a lightning bolt onto the village!" Gabrielle said and even added sound effects. Luca and Layla's eyes widened.

Luca rose to his knees, grabbing onto Gabrielle's skirt, "and then what happened?" he needed to know.

Layla nodded, crawling on her knees, closer to Gabrielle's legs, "yes, Gabby, tell us!" she begged.

"You  _really_  want to know?" Gabrielle whispered with a sneaky smile on her lips.

"Yes!" both said in unison.

Gabrielle chuckled and rested her hands on her knees, glancing up at Xena who she saw was watching the entire time. To make this story kid friendly, she skipped a few parts. "Zeus' lightning bolt wiped out all of the horrible Satyrs and the people of Corinth were free!" she smiled.

Luca folded his arms, "well that's stupid," he pouted. "What about the blood?" he stood up and began pretending to fight the Satyrs himself. "And the fighting!" he growled, throwing a few punches.

Xena stepped in, "those stories will be saved for when you're older," she smiled and both children looked up to her. Luca grinned then threw a few soft punches on her leg, pretending she was the enemy. Xena raised a playful eyebrow at him. She picked him up and he squirmed.

"Hey! Put me down!" he protested and she lifted him higher into the air, locking his arms together as he squirmed. "I am a warrior!" he yelled out. Gabrielle hid her smile and Layla shook her head at her brother.

"He's crazy," Layla whispered to Gabrielle and she nodded, agreeing with the small child.

Xena grinned up at Luca as he tried to get free from her hold. "You're a warrior, huh?"

"The best!" Luca said and Xena lifted her chin, challenging the boy. "I can defeat you!" she set him down on the ground and he grabbed onto her leg, wrapping his legs around her, refusing to let go. "I have you now!"

Xena folded her arms and began walking away and he clutched onto her leg. "You can't escape me!" he yelled and she chuckled under her breath. She halted and he looked up at her with a snarl. She kicked her leg and he went flying down the marble floor, sliding into a few pillows. He rubbed the back of his head and she placed her hands on her hips, smirking at the young boy. He got up and pointed his finger at her, "you may have escaped this time! But I will get you next time!" he said and she nodded.

"We shall see about that," Xena teased. Gabrielle joined her as she held Layla's hand, walking into the palace. "He reminds me of Eve," she marveled.

Gabrielle agreed, "I would agree with you."

Xena leaned down and touched Layla's cheeks, staring into her green eyes, "how would you like to go on a little trip?" she smiled.

Layla's eyes lit up and as soon as Luca heard that, he came rushing over, hugging Xena's dress. "A trip?" he said, instantly intrigued. Xena nodded and he was interested already. Gabrielle had discussed this with Xena last week and thought it might be good for them to get out of Rome for awhile. They hadn't left Rome since they arrived here three years ago.

"Would you two like to go to Athens?" Xena said with a bit of mirth in her eyes.

Luca wrapped his arm around his sister and lifted an eyebrow at his grandmother, "what is in this 'Athens'?"

Gabrielle knelt down to their eye level, "all kinds of exciting things! I'm sure you two would like it a lot!" she said and Layla smiled, already excited.

"Will there be...cookies?" Luca asked and Gabrielle laughed aloud, though he was quite serious about the cookies.

Xena sighed, "yes, of course, and cake too," she folded her arms and saw his eyes instantly light up. She would have never guessed he would love desserts so much, though it made him bounce off the walls and stay up late passed his bed time. Gabrielle would often hide the sweets from him.

Luca smiled, "okay since there will be cookies, I will go!" he then ran off, rounding a corner.

Xena shook her head and Layla sighed. She stared down at her granddaughter and saw she was obviously the more mature one out the two. "Where is he going?" she whispered to Gabrielle. The blonde shrugged her shoulders.

"He's going to get the cookies," Layla said.

Xena frowned, turning to Gabrielle, "I thought you hid the rest of the cookies?"

"I did!" Gabrielle sighed, not knowing what to do with that boy.

Layla placed her hands on her little hips, mirroring Xena. "He knows where they are, Gabby!" she shook her head, "he's crazy for cookies!" she threw her hands in the air out of frustration of her brother. Xena exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"There's no way he could find them. I hid them in a special spot," Gabrielle smiled smugly.

Layla folded her arms, "he's very sneaky..." shaking her head at her brother's silly behavior.

"I'm going to put that child on a celery diet," Xena walked off to go find the cookie thief.


	49. Chapter 49

**AN: these kids...enjoy lol ;)**

Chapter 49

Xena, Gabrielle and the children traveled to Athens to see the progress on the new palace that was being built. Xena had spent quite a lot of money on building the palace including restoring her old palace into a university. If she had spent money on the Scythian Persian war, her treasury would have been sufficiently drained of all its funds. She had already sent Persia and Assyria money for weapons as well as food supply. She had spent more than enough without being directly involved. Spending money on war was incredibly expensive –she would know. She had been at war with Octavius for over twenty years and now that she wasn't at war anymore, she didn't want to spend money on it.

She promised to keep sending money for weaponry in Assyria and food to Persia only because Solan and Eve begged her. She wasn't going to be dragged into a war that had no interest in her or an of her concern. She did understand that Eve belonged to Persia and Greece respectively and since she was her mother and leader of her Greco-Roman empire, she would send aid because that's what allies do; they help one another in a time of need.

The new Athenian palace was coming along well and was about one third finished. She figured if she kept pouring money into it, it might be done in the next six months if her builders worked extra hard to finish it. The university on the other hand might take longer because of the damage it endured a few years ago. It was still very damaged and everything in it needed to be replaced, repainted and rebuilt inside. The outside of the palace was alright, hardly any damage had been done to it. she would forever remember that night when Octavius released the dams of the sea into her home. That palace was more than her dwelling and fortress, it became her home –a place she worked so hard for and it was destroyed in one night out of greed and spite.

Gabrielle was inside the finished part of the palace, the east wing, and walked around, looking at the huge columns, probably at least thirty feet high, reaching the white marble ceilings. She remembered the old Athenian palace and thought it was large, but this place was extraordinary. The columns were huge too, probably five feet in circumference, which was twice the size as the old palace's columns. Of course there was marble everywhere, just like Xena wanted. This place was definitely more Greek in style than the Roman palace. Though, both were very similar, the Greek palaces were always a bit different in design, perhaps more ornate and well thought out than their Roman counterparts.

Xena saw Gabrielle wandering around and decided to join her, "so, what do you think Gabrielle?" she smiled and the blonde turned to her with a big grin.

"It's great, Xena!" her smile widened and she touched one of the large columns. "Why are the columns so large?"

The empress shrugged her shoulders, "why not?" she teased. Gabrielle chuckled, nodding her head, figuring that was a good enough answer. Why shouldn't she create a palace the way she wanted it to be?

"Where are the children?" Gabrielle turned, finding that she couldn't see them or hear them, which probably meant they were up to no good.

Xena sighed, "they're in the west wing. Bothering the workers I'm sure..." she rolled her eyes.

Gabrielle didn't like the sound of that. "I think we should go find them before they get themselves into trouble..." Xena agreed and both walked to the west wing to find the troublemakers.

* * *

Luca ran from his sister, hiding from her, one of their favorite games. Layla covered her eyes, "ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen..." she continued counting and Luca looked up and saw a ladder that lead to the unfinished second story of the palace. He looked back and saw his sister still counting. Getting an idea, he climbed up the ladder and saw the wooden pallets that were holding the second floor together.

Balancing as carefully as he could, he walked across one of the wooden boards and grinned. She will never find me here, he thought. As soon as he reached the other side he stood behind a column, holding onto it with his small hands.

"Twenty!" Layla opened her eyes and looked around, trying to find her brother. She searched behind all the unfinished columns and smiled. "Luca..." she whispered and waltzed around looking behind a curtain and saw he wasn't here. Frowning, she walked around the palace trying to find him.

Xena and Gabrielle came to the west wing and saw Layla wandering around by herself. Xena frowned, folding her arms, "what are you doing?" she asked.

Layla gasped and turned to see her grandmother and Gabrielle standing behind her. "I'm looking for Luca. We're playing a game," she smiled, excited to find him. She walked around and looked behind a large slab of marble. "He's very good at hiding."

Gabrielle looked up at the open ceiling at the sky, "I see..." she frowned and saw some marble pieces fall from above on the second floor. Side stepping it she tugged Xena's sleeve. "Xena..." she whispered and pointed above and saw a shadow standing behind the column.

Xena's eyes widened as she saw Luca hiding behind an unfinished column on the second floor. She didn't like this game anymore especially if one of them was going to get hurt. "Enough of this game..." she growled and walked over to the open space. "Luca!" she yelled and Layla turned around.

"You found him?" she ran forward and looked up to see her brother on the second floor. "Hey how did you get up there, Luca?" she giggled and Luca sighed.

"Thanks a lot, teta!" Luca frowned at Xena. Both called Xena the Persian word for grandmother as Eve told taught them a few years ago, something she picked up from Samuel and Hatima. "You made me lose!" he pouted folding his arms.

Xena frowned, "get down from there!" she demanded and he sighed and relented, obeying her. He walked across one of the pallets and Xena was standing below him, watching his every move. Luca slipped and fell on the pallet.

Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear, "be careful!" she clamped her hands together and watched the boy slowly walk across the wooden planks, fearing that he would fall. Xena was fidgeting her fingers, worried as well, though Layla seemed to think this was funny and all part of the game.

Luca smiled and balanced on the wooden plank until one of them broke from his weight and Gabrielle gasped. He grabbed onto one of the hanging curtains from the columns and clung on for dear life. Layla stopped laughing and Xena stepped forward. "Jump down."

He breathed heavily and shook his head, "it's too high!" he looked around, now panicking.

Xena smiled, trying to calm him down and held her arms out, "I will catch you, Luca," she said calmly and he shook his head, too afraid to jump down twenty feet in the air. She sighed, "Luca...you trust me don't you?" he nodded, "alright, so jump down and I will catch you." Gabrielle grabbed Layla, holding her close to her. Layla grabbed onto Gabrielle's leg, clutching her tightly.

The fabric began to rip and he yelped, Xena grabbed her chakram and threw it at the fabric, cutting it. Luca fell down, screaming for dear life and she moved, catching the boy in her arms. His eyes blinked, barely registering what had just happened. Xena raised her eyebrow at him and frowned. He smiled happily, "that was... _awesome_!" he beamed and Gabrielle held her breath the entire time.

Xena put him on the floor and knelt down to his level, "that was not funny, Luca. What if Gabrielle and I didn't come in time? You could have hurt yourself," she ran her fingers through his dark wavy short locks.

"But I'm not hurt! I'm fine, see!" he twirled around happily and she grabbed his arms firmly, staring into his green eyes.

"Don't do it again, understand?" she said firmly and he nodded his head, now feeling a bit embarrassed of himself and his ill actions. She pat his leg gently and he ran to Gabrielle and his sister.

He looked up to Gabrielle and she too had a disapproving look on her face. "Can we go get those cookies? The ones with the jam inside?" he smiled widely at her.

Xena scoffed, "you won't get any cookies after what you just did," she walked passed them and Gabrielle followed her, holding Layla's hand. Luca's eyes widened and he ran up to Xena, tugging on her dress.

"But, but!" he protested and she ignored him and kept walking. He grabbed her hand, skipping to keep up with her strides. "I'm really sorry! I won't do it again! I promise!" he pleaded and she looked down at him, frowning.

"No," Xena said and he pulled on her arm and he kept bothering her about it.

Gabrielle chuckled and Layla rolled her eyes. "He's being silly," the four year old said and Gabrielle agreed.

"He definitely is, but you can have cookies," she smirked and Layla smiled up at her.

Luca pulled on Xena's dress and then wrapped his arms around her leg, "pleaaaseee," he begged and Xena halted, glaring down at him.

"Luca, I said no." she folded her arms and he frowned, staring up at her, folding his arms as well, mocking her.

"But I said I was sorry!" he frowned.

Xena thought that Eve was a handful when she was this age, but Luca was far worse. He was so spoiled by her and Gabrielle, including Eve when she came to visit. Xena was often not there enough for Eve when she was little and therefore did not spoil her nearly as much as she did with Luca and Layla. Though, Eve had everything she ever wanted when she was a child, she knew her boundaries, otherwise bad things would happen and she would be punished. Obviously, Xena thought she was too lenient on these children, allowing them to do whatever they wanted simply because she loved them of course, but also because she could give all her attention to them since their mother wasn't here.

"Luca," she leaned down staring in his eyes, "you can't have whatever you want just because you apologize."

His eyes widened, "but why not?" he mumbled, staring down at the floor.

She sighed and lifted his chin so he would look at her, "you did something very dangerous and if I say no, you have to respect what I say. Because you did something bad, you don't get the treats you want. You think that is fair?"

He frowned, folding his arms again, "no," he muttered. Xena sighed and stood up, annoyed with the child. Gabrielle smiled and went over to Luca and knelt down in front of him. He stared at her and frowned deeply, still upset.

"Luca, you need to listen to your grandmother and if she says no, then you have to listen." She said in a soft tone and he still wasn't very happy about it. She sighed and decided to go a different approach. "What if Layla stole one of your toys, would you like that?"

His eyes widened, "no..."

"And what if...I decided to give Layla all of your cookies and you got none. I would be rewarding her bad behavior. Do you think that is fair?" she asked and he shook his head. "So, since you did something bad..." she poked his little chest, "you don't get any treats because then me and your grandma would be rewarding  _your_  bad behavior." She stared in his eyes and saw he was beginning to understand what she was saying. "Understand?"

He exhaled heavily, "yeah, I understand..." he muttered, "but I still want cookies." Gabrielle chuckled and ruffled his dark hair, standing up.

Xena smirked and Layla hugged her dress, she peered down and picked up Layla. She walked over to Gabrielle, "thanks for trying Gabrielle," she said and the blonde sighed. "Luca, I'll tell you what, if you're good for the rest of the day, I will give you a treat that you like."

His eyes lit up, " _really_?" he smiled, already excited. She nodded and he gasped, not containing his excitement anymore. "Can I have one of those jam cookies that we had in the city?" he asked and she rolled her eyes, agreeing to his wishes. "And the cake with the strawberries in it?" he asked with a sly smile.

Xena frowned, "don't push it," she said and he sighed. She then had an idea and smiled sneakily, "why don't you go organize all of the books in the library?"

Luca scoffed, "you want me to work in the  _library_?" he folded his arms, "teta...I don't even like books."

Gabrielle hid her smile, finding his obstinate attitude quite amusing, even though he was quite serious. "Layla can help you."

Layla's eyes widened, "but I didn't do anything wrong!" she pouted and Xena set her down on the floor, pushing her towards her brother.

Gabrielle smiled, "when you're both finished then you can have your special cookies," she told Luca and he contemplated the idea for a moment.

He nodded, "okay fine!" he grabbed his sister's hand, "come on Layla!" he ran off and she groaned, following him reluctantly while she complained the entire way down the hallway.

Xena folded her arms and nudged Gabrielle, "you know they aren't going to finish that task, right?"

Gabrielle nodded, "I know, but it will give them something to do." She shrugged and the empress chuckled under her breath. Both walked off to go outside and see how the workers were doing on the outside of the building.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Samuel laid in bed reading a book while Eve slept beside him. He was reading the tactics that the Qin soldiers used on their enemies and was learning new ways to get rid of Nimrood. He felt that the Scythian king was losing too many men. As long as Xena kept sending her money to Assyria then he was sure that everything would work out just fine, but for whatever reason, if she stopped, then they would be in big trouble. He didn't sleep all night and it was now morning as he saw the sun slowly rising in the sky outside the large arched windows.

Eve stirred in her sleep and felt a cold breeze against her arms. She opened her eyes and saw Samuel reading intensely. She grabbed his wrist and he peered down at her, smiling. "What are you doing?" she said sleepily.

He closed the book, sighing heavily, "just reading some war tactics," he ran his fingers through Eve's long hair. "Did you sleep well?" he smiled.

She yawned and covered her bare body with the blankets, "not really," she frowned and he kissed her forehead. Sighing she scooted closer to him, wrapping her arm around his waist. "You need to kill Nimrood, Samuel. He isn't going to stop."

He sighed, knowing that was all too true, he hated to admit it. "I would have to arrange a meeting with him between the borders in order to kill him."

She looked up to him and ran her fingers across his bare chest, "so, what's stopping you?"

"I don't know," he frowned, rubbing his face, "my father made war look so easy!" he groaned.

She smirked, "but he never won a war, Samuel," she said and he had to agree with her. He did never win a war, even though he fought in them a lot. "He was not able to kill my mother, and claim Greece nor was he able to claim Rome either. He may have fought in many wars, but he never won, he always lost."

"That's true. I don't want to lose," he folded his arms and she sat up, clutching the sheets close to her.

"My mother always said that you have to lose sometimes in order to win later..." she ran her fingers through his hair and he didn't even like that saying.

He sneered, "your mother has won many times, Eve! That is not a fair comparison..." he scoffed.

She frowned, seeing he was becoming more frustrated by the minute, "Samuel, my mother has lost many times and she has won many times too. She lost to Octavius once and she fled Athens! I lived in Cairo almost my entire life and hated it. I hated that we left my home and moved to a new place that I knew nothing about. I still hate it," she sighed and saw he was not interested in her life story. "But the point is...she came back and won."

He looked to her, "so what you're saying is that I should run away and hide like your mother did? I think that means that Nimrood would see me as a coward."

Eve frowned, "no that's not what I'm saying, but you are draining all of your treasury because of this war and you're not winning!" she grabbed his hand firmly, "you need to pull back before you risk losing everything. My mother pulled back for several years and later she came back with a vengeance and won the longest war she had ever fought in."

Samuel sighed, now a bit more relaxed hearing that. "If I pull back, how long do I wait until I attack him again? I don't want to wait years until I do..."

"You pull back your army from the border and arrange a meeting with the king. Make him believe that you are calling a truce." She said and he nodded, still not convinced. "And then maybe I can convince my mother to send him some of her men to obliterate the idiot," she chuckled.

He shook his head, "war is difficult," he sighed heavily, leaning back against the pillows, feeling so tired. She rest her head on his shoulder, understanding him completely.

"I used to think that war was a game," she said and traced her fingers along his bare shoulder, "but I have come to realize that war is not a game. I also used to think my mother's job was easy," she laughed, "but it's the hardest job in the world. It's no wonder she doesn't want to be involved in another war."

He sighed, "yeah, she is tired of wars huh?" he smirked and wrapped his arm around her. "I don't blame her. Soon my hair will be grey like hers!" he joked.

Eve hit his chest and he groaned. "Her hair isn't grey!" she protested, "only a little bit," she smirked.

"I'm sure she has more since she's taking care of those two monsters," he teased and Eve sighed, wishing that she could go see them again. Only two months away until their fifth birthday and she was stuck here. He looked down and saw her eyes filled with sadness. "You should go see them."

"I want to, but I need to help you here," she peered up to him and he had a sad smile on his lips.

"You can go see them. I can take care of things here. My mother will fill in for you, she's done it before," he smiled and kissed her forehead. He sighed and got out of the bed grabbing his cloak, wrapping it around his body.

"Where are you going?" she asked, sitting up, not wishing him to leave. They had so few nights together and it was nice just to lay in bed for awhile.

He looked to the bright sun shining in the room. "I have work to do," he winked. "King business, you know how it is." He leaned down and kissed her lips generously. "I love you," he smiled.

She smiled back, "love you too," she held onto his hand and he walked away, not wanting to let go. As soon as he left the bedroom she sighed, plopping down back onto the pillows, staring at the ceiling. "What a mess..." she muttered.

* * *

Two months later Eve was finally able to leave Persia and travel to Rome to see her children, mother and Gabrielle. Samuel had pulled back his army even though it took quite a lot of convincing from herself and his general, Mehmed. Hatima thought that Eve's idea was the best and he should try and talk things over before attacking again. She also thought this was the perfect opportunity to ask her mother for help.

She decided not to tell her mother that she was coming and arrived to the Roman palace. She stepped out of the caravan, smiling seeing the large Roman palace. She never thought she'd say it, but she loved seeing it, even though it wasn't Athens, it was close enough. Her attendant handed her the two gifts she had for Luca and Layla. She thanked him and walked up the stairs, eager to see everyone.

It was early in the morning, and the sun hadn't even risen yet so it was still semi dark outside. She stepped through the entrance and saw the place was pretty deserted except for Asad, her large feline friend. The leopard yawned and got up off the marble floor, obviously guarding the entrance. He sauntered over to her and she smiled.

"Hey you!" she pet his head and he purred loudly, rubbing against her legs. "Where is everyone?" she whispered and he circled around her, wrapping his tail around her leg.

She walked through the long hallway with Asad following her. She figured that her mother would be awake, since she knew she'd like to be awake before the crack of dawn. She heard some rustling around in the atrium and saw her mother with a large sword in her hand, practicing of course. Eve smiled, leaning on one of the columns she set the gifts down on a sofa and watched her mother, completely focused on her morning routine. She remembered she always did this when she was child and was glad she still kept up with it.

Xena slowed herself, focusing on the plant in front of her. Frowning she glared at the large orchid plant, bringing both hands to the hilt of the sword. She turned and swiftly cut the plant in half. The petals of the flower fell to the ground and she twirled the sword with her wrist.

"I see you still like to practice sword fighting," Eve said and Xena turned around to see her daughter.

"Eve!" she smiled and set the sword down, walking towards her, she embraced her warmly. Eve grinned and had always missed her mother's hugs even though she could barely breathe. Xena pulled away and looked into Eve's eyes. "You didn't tell me you were coming here?"

Eve shrugged, "I wanted to surprise you," she smiled. Xena grinned then pulled further away, holding onto her hands, scanning her body and pinched her daughter's cheeks in between her fingers. " _What_..are you doing?" she said in a muffled voice then creased her eyebrows.

Xena lifted her eyebrow, her eyes wandering over her daughter's body. "You look different," she observed.

Eve chuckled and swapped her mother's hand away from her face. "Mother, I'm fine, please," she smiled nervously and Xena hummed to herself. Though she saw she wasn't going to stop. "Mother!" she firmly grabbed her arms, forcing her to stop. "I'm fine."

"Something about you is different," Xena mused and Eve rolled her eyes. "Well, anyway," she grabbed her daughter's hand leading her inside, "how was your trip?"

Eve sighed, "long and cold!" she said and Xena smiled, noticing the gifts. "I brought these for the children. Are they still asleep?"

Xena muttered, "not for long," she said and Eve chuckled, grabbing the gifts following her mother inside. "They like to get up early and play games."

"I'm sure they are driving you crazy." She sighed, "mother, thank you for taking care of them. I don't know what I would do without you and Gabrielle," she smiled thankfully.

"I knew you would come around eventually," Xena joked. "Come, you will eat something with me," she smiled and Eve cringed.

"Well, I'm not really hungry," she protested but her mother grabbed her arm pulling her along.

Xena lifted an eyebrow, "not hungry after that long journey? Now I know something is definitely different about you," she smirked and Eve frowned.

* * *

After some coaxing Xena was able to get Eve to sit down with her at least. She barely touched the fruit and poked the plate with her fork. Xena sipped her water, observing her daughter's odd behavior. Gabrielle then walked into the dinning hall and gasped loudly. Eve turned and smiled, seeing her favorite person.

"Eve! I didn't know you were here!" Gabrielle ran to her and hugged her from behind. Eve smiled and Xena folded her arms. "When did you get here?"

"A couple of hours ago," Eve said and Gabrielle frowned at Xena.

"And you didn't wake me up?" she glared at the sneaky empress.

Xena shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly, "you don't like to get up early, Gabrielle." She stood up sighing heavily. "I'm going to change. I'm sure those two will be awake soon." She kissed Gabrielle's cheek and then walked to her room.

Gabrielle sat beside Eve, staring at her intensely and Eve felt a bit awkward. "What?" she laughed nervously.

"Nothing, it's been a long time!" Gabrielle said as she kept staring at her. Though, Eve seemed a bit disturbed at the moment, she could tell by the look on her face. Eve kept pushing the fruit around on her plate mindlessly. "Something wrong?"

Eve sighed, "no," she mumbled and Gabrielle scooted her chair closer to her. Now Eve felt her personal space being invaded again. "Gabrielle..."

"Something's wrong with you, I see it," she grabbed Eve's hand and stared at her distressed face. "You can tell me, I'm not Xena," she teased.

Eve smirked, always remembering that Gabrielle was the best person to tell her secrets to if she didn't want her mother to find out, though sometimes she did because her mother apparently knew everything. "Well..." she began and Gabrielle leaned in closer, and she looked to her, now feeling uncomfortable. "you won't tell my mother, right?" she whispered.

"No! I promise," she winked and Eve sighed heavily.

"I just don't want to tell her yet," Eve tapped her fingers on the table nervously. "So, before I left Persia I found out something." She began and Gabrielle nodded her head. "I..." she trailed off and felt incredibly nervous and it wasn't helping that Gabrielle kept staring. "I'm pregnant."

Gabrielle gasped loudly, " _really_?" she said with a big smile and Eve's eyes widened. "A baby?!"

"Gabrielle!" Eve chastised, "stop yelling!" she said and Gabrielle nodded and kept smiling.

"Eve, that's good news!" she smiled and Eve quirked her mouth, nervously tapping the fork on the plate. She frowned, "why don't you want to tell Xena?"

Eve sighed, "because I don't want her to fuss over me like she did last time. I didn't even tell Samuel, yet," she said quietly.

Gabrielle could understand why Eve was so stressed. This stupid war had been going on long enough and her children were in an entirely different part of the world and now this. "Well, you know both of us will help you like we did last time," she smiled, trying to comfort her.

"I know Gabrielle," she sighed, "just don't tell mother about this. I will tell her myself, when I feel like it..."

"sure, Eve, whatever you want," she smiled and kissed her forehead. Eve smiled, now feeling a bit better. Gabrielle then rubbed her chin pensively, "what are you going to tell Layla and Luca?"

Eve held her head on her palm and shook her head. "I didn't think of how to tell them yet." She sighed and Gabrielle rubbed her arm.

"They might be excited," she gestured and Eve rolled her eyes, not feeling the excitement at all.

* * *

An hour later Xena made sure that the children got dressed and were out of bed. They didn't get up early like they usually did and she was positive that they probably stayed up very late as they were very reluctant to get out of bed. She made them cover their eyes and she held their hands as they slowly walked down the hallway into the atrium.

Layla frowned, "why do we have to cover our eyes?" she asked.

Xena smiled, "because I have a surprise for you," she looked and saw Eve standing with Gabrielle. Her daughter had a big smile on her face and it was obvious she was too excited to see them both.

Luca smiled, "is it cookies?" he asked and Xena rolled her eyes.

"Even better than cookies," she said and Luca's face contorted confusedly.

" _Better_  than cookies?" he asked, not really believing her.

"Oh yes," Xena smiled and they stopped.

"What could be better than cookies?!" Luca chuckled.

Layla frowned, "shut up, Luca," she said and Luca gasped loudly. Gabrielle held in her laugh, as the two still had their eyes closed and couldn't keep from arguing of course.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Xena said and let go of their hands. Luca and Layla opened their eyes and saw their mother standing in front of them with Gabrielle behind her.

"Mommy!" both of them squealed and ran to her. Eve knelt down and hugged them both.

Xena smiled and came around to stand beside Gabrielle. "I don't think they were expecting that," Gabrielle whispered.

"Well I didn't expect her to show up this morning either," she saw both children talking to Eve at the same time, both more than excited to see her. Eve smiled, listening to them tell their little stories and bobbed her head. "She looks different, doesn't she?" she frowned turning to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle sealed her lips and she folded her arms, shrugging lightly. "Why do you say that?"

Xena lifted her eyebrow and stared at Eve, "her face is different, don't you see?" she noticed and Gabrielle said nothing. She saw that Gabrielle was being very quiet and she nudged her arm, "do you know something?" she smirked and the blonde shook her head.

"Nope," she kept staring at Eve and the children, avoiding Xena's piercing eyes.

"Liar," she mumbled and Gabrielle frowned up at her.

Eve took the gifts off the table and knelt down in front of the children. "I brought some gifts for you both," she smiled and their eyes widened.

Luca beamed, "what is it?" he asked and Eve smirked at him, touching his cheek with her palm.

"Why don't you open it and find out?" she stood up, folding her arms and the children both ran and sat down on the couch sitting side by side.

Layla unwrapped her gift and opened the box to see gold and black shoes. Her mouth gaped and she examined the design, it definitely wasn't the normal shoes that Gabrielle bought for her. "Persian shoes?" she asked and Eve nodded. Layla unlaced her sandals and slipped on the shoes. "They are nice!" she mused.

Xena leaned on the column and saw Layla was quite pleased with her shoes, "what do you say?" she said and Layla smiled.

"Thank you," she said in her sweet voice and hugged her mother quickly then sat back down beside her brother, anxious to see what their mother brought him.

Luca opened his present and saw a black turban with a feather on it. He gasped and immediately put it on his head. He looked to his grandmother, "how do I look?" he grinned.

Xena chuckled and Gabrielle shook her head, "like a Persian prince."

Eve grinned at their smiling faces and saw they really liked their gifts. "Your father had one made for you. So you can wear it when you come to live with us again." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Luca hugged his mother's legs and smiled up at her as the turban was slipping down his head. It was still a little large for his head. "When can we see him? He never comes to visit us!"

Eve knelt down and fixed the turban on his head. "He's very busy."

"Because he's the king," Layla said and Eve nodded.

She saw the sadness in both of their eyes and she smiled. "But I think you will be able to come live in Persia with us soon!" she poked Luca's nose and he giggled softly.

"Is it pretty there?" he asked her.

"Yes, very pretty!" Eve kissed his forehead and he grabbed her hand.

"Come on!" he pulled her along and she looked to her mother and Gabrielle for help. Xena shrugged her shoulder and Gabrielle looked equally as clueless. He then stopped and looked to Xena, "can I have cookies?" he asked.

Xena rolled her eyes and Gabrielle chuckled, nudging her in the side. Layla sighed, rolling her eyes. "Oh gosh," the girl leaned her cheek on her hand at her brother's obsession with treats.

"Let him have the cookies, Xena, it's his birthday!" Gabrielle teased.

"Fine," Xena mumbled, "but only one!" she held her finger up and Luca nodded, quite excited and pulled his mother along with him.

Eve lifted her eyebrow at her son, "what is it with him and cookies?" she shook her head, looking to her mother for an explanation as she was being pulled by Luca.

Layla hopped off the sofa and grabbed Xena's hand. "He's addicted," she said with a serious face and Gabrielle laughed aloud while Xena nodded.

"I should put bugs in the cookies," Xena chuckled under her breath and Gabrielle gave her a surprised look. "It's just a joke..." she teased and walked off with Layla holding her hand.

* * *

Later in the afternoon Layla and Luca sat in the atrium playing a game with marbles, being quite calm. Eve sat watching them. Xena came to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump. "I didn't mean to scare you," she smiled and sat beside her, crossing a leg over the other. "They're on their best behavior for you," she teased.

Eve smiled, "I'm sure they are a handful," she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, not taking her eyes off them. She had been sitting there for hours watching them as they played together.

"You have no idea," Xena sighed heavily, thinking of when Luca decided to play hide and seek with his sister in Athens and almost fell due to his curious nature. Eve lowered her eyes and then realized she probably knew that she shouldn't have said that. Of course Eve wouldn't know because she wasn't here. Her hand came to her daughter's knee and she smiled warmly at her, "they ask about you a lot, you know."

Eve's eyes lit up, "really?" she was surprised to hear that.

"Almost every day," Xena said and that seemed to make Eve feel better. "Are you alright?" she frowned.

Her daughter nodded, "yes, I'm fine," she sighed and leaned back and felt her mother's eyes on her. "Well actually..." she began and turned to see her mother staring at her. "Never mind," she folded her hands in her lap.

Xena scooted closer to her, "you can tell me," she smiled and brushed Eve's long hair behind her shoulder. "Your hair has gotten very long," she mused, noticing Eve's hair was almost to her hips like hers once was. Eve smiled weakly, refusing to look at her mother. "Eve, you can tell me if something is wrong. You know I will be there for you..." she pried some more.

Eve sighed heavily then turned to her mother, "I know you will, but that's not it."

"Then what is it?" Xena lifted her eyebrow, now becoming worried.

"If I tell you, you promise not to overreact?" she said and her mother nodded, giving her full attention. She inhaled deeply then thought she should just spit it out. "I...I'm –"

"pregnant?" Xena smirked and Eve's eyes widened.

"H-how did you know?" Eve said, still in shock.

Xena chuckled, "your face is different," she touched her cheek and Eve's mouth gaped. "You have the same look when you were pregnant with those two," she nudged her head at the children and Eve's cheeks flushed.

Eve smiled, "well now I feel stupid," she sighed and Xena kissed her cheek.

"You're not stupid, although you did tell Gabrielle before  _me_. I'm not surprised. You always run to her," she smirked and Eve laughed, now feeling super embarrassed. "What did Samuel say?"

Eve lowered her eyes and Xena nodded, knowing that look. "You didn't tell him did you?" Eve shook her head. Xena sighed, "well you can't keep that a secret forever, I would know," she teased.

"I know, but he left to Scythia before I came here. I didn't have time to tell him," Eve folded her arms, now becoming angry with herself. She saw Layla stand up and walk towards her. She smiled at her, forgetting her angst.

"Mommy, do you want to play with us?" she asked in her sweet voice.

Eve shook her head, "no that's alright." She looked to her mother's smug face and sighed staring at her daughter. "Luca, could you come here?" she asked and he looked up to her then grabbed some marbles in his hand and ran over to her. She sighed heavily staring at both of their big green eyes, not sure how they would react to this news.

Xena smirked watching her daughter's anxious nature, though she was sure that it would come out. Eve tapped her fingers on her knees nervously staring at her children as they stared at her, waiting patiently. Xena had never seen them be so patient in their lives.

"How would you feel...if..." Eve began and both of them kept staring at her. "If mommy had a baby?" she smiled and both of them looked confused at her.

"A  _baby_?" Luca asked and Eve nodded.

Layla stared at her mother and raised an eyebrow skeptically, "you're having a baby?" she asked and Eve nodded once more.

Luca grinned widely, "so does that mean I will have a brother?" he asked, coming closer to his mother with his sparkling eyes.

"Or a sister," Xena interrupted and Luca scoffed, folding his arms staring at his grandmother.

"No, it's a brother," he climbed up on the couch and sat in between the two women.

Layla frowned, not quite sure how to process this news. "Will you go back to Persia with the baby?" she asked, very concerned now.

Eve leaned forward and grazed her hand against her cheek, "I will take you with me of course," she smiled and Layla was still not convinced.

Xena sighed and saw Layla was upset that she would not be going home soon and her mother would be leaving without her. "Your mother can stay here for awhile," she suggested and Eve lifted her eyebrows at her.

Layla smiled at that and climbed on the sofa and sat beside her mother, "okay!" she was happy to hear that and Eve glared at her mother, now she would have to stay since she couldn't say no to her children and disappoint them. Though, she would have to write to Samuel and move back when it became safer in Persia.

Luca frowned staring up at his mother, "when will it be here?" he asked innocently.

Eve chuckled, "not for awhile," she ruffled his dark hair and he folded his arms, not happy to hear that.

"How long?" Luca asked her, eager to know.

Eve tapped her chin and Xena smirked at the boy's curiosity. She held up six fingers, "this many months, maybe," she guessed.

Luca's eyes widened, "that is a long time!" he sighed heavily. "But I can wait," he nodded and Eve chuckled softly at him.

Layla frowned staring at her mother's stomach and poked her. Eve jumped and stared down at her, "I don't see it," she lifted her small eyebrow and her mother ran her fingers through Layla's long reddish brown locks.

"You will soon, I promise," Eve winked and Layla smiled up at her.

Gabrielle came in with a tray of food and saw all four of them sitting on the couch together. Luca stood up on the sofa and his eyes were filled with excitement. "Gabby guess what!"

She smiled setting the tray down, "what?"

"Mommy is having a baby!" he yelled out and the blonde smirked and then caught Xena looking at her with that  _look_.

"Oh really?" Gabrielle played along and he nodded.

"It will be a boy," he grinned and Layla rolled her eyes.

"It's a girl, Luca," she folded her arms and he glared at her.

"No, it's not," he spat back and both started arguing.

Xena sighed and picked up Luca, "alright, that's enough out of you," he squirmed in her hold and he was upside down, fighting to get out of her hold. He hit her hips and she smirked at Gabrielle. "You were always a bad liar," she teased.

Gabrielle groaned, "she didn't want me to tell you!" she muttered and Xena smirked at her as Luca kept hitting her.

"Would you stop?" she said and Luca growled, still squirming around like a worm. Eve saw her son acting wild and obnoxious, quite shocked. They were being so good earlier. Xena smiled at her daughter, "this is normal." She put him down and squeezed his arms as he kept trying to get free. "You need to be on your best behavior," and he snarled at her. She frowned, "you want to be a good big brother, right?"

He stopped and stared into her eyes, becoming more serious now. "Yes," he gulped and she smiled at him.

Layla leaned on the couch and sighed, "he's always like this," she said and Eve frowned.

"I see," she didn't like the way her son was acting and if he was always like this, then she truly felt sorry for her mother and Gabrielle. He really needed his father here to discipline him obviously. "Well, he won't act like that anymore while I'm here." She stood up and Layla peered up at her.

"So are you staying?" she asked and Eve smiled down at her.

"Yes, I will stay here until we have to go back. Together," she said and Layla jumped off the sofa and hugged her mother's legs tightly. She walked over to Luca and tapped his shoulder. He turned around seeing a frown on her face. "You won't behave like that anymore. You will listen to Gabrielle and your grandmother from now,  _understand_?"

He nodded vigorously, "yes ma'am," he said with wide eyes, afraid of her face, as it reminded him of Xena's face.

Xena folded her arms, "wow," she blinked, "look at that, Gabrielle, he actually obeyed her," she chuckled.

"He even said ma'am!" Gabrielle lifted her eyebrow, now suspicious of the wild boy's behavioral change.

"I don't know where he learned that word from," Xena joked.

Eve sighed, "I'm sorry about this. He's always so well behaved when I come!" she shook her head and Luca grabbed onto her black dress.

"I will be good, I promise," he said with sad eyes and she couldn't help but smile at him.

Layla sighed, "he won't be good, I know him." She said and her brother shot her a glare. Gabrielle covered her mouth, laughing softly. Truly, Layla was obviously light-years ahead of her brother age wise.

"Oh he  _will_  be good," Eve glared at her son, "and what is this obsession with cookies?" Luca's cheeks blushed, now embarrassed. Layla giggled to herself, liking that her brother was in trouble and for once, getting reprimanded for it.


	50. Chapter 50

**AN: wow guys, I made it to 50 chapters lol. I really liked writing this one, hope everyone enjoys ;)**

Chapter 50 – _Next of Kin_

Eve sat in her old bedroom at the desk and tried writing a letter to Samuel for over two hours. Every draft she wrote she crumbled up and threw them on the floor. Groaning she folded her arms staring at the blank parchment and quill. She didn't want to tell Samuel through a letter, it was really impersonal but her mother convinced her to stay here for awhile, she didn't know how long that might be. Though, she enjoyed staying here with her and missed her and Gabrielle as well as her children.

She had been in Rome for a week now and hoped that everything went well in Persia considering that Samuel was supposed to meet with Nimrood to call off the attacks like she told him. Samuel really wanted to win, but he had never been in a war before and was not very experienced. She hoped that he listened to her, after all, she was his advisor, though she suspected that her role as vizier and wife was a hindrance on their business relationship. He often spoke to her like a wife more than a vizier, which could cloud his decisions, but she was really firm, or at least she tried to be.

A knock came to her door and she saw Gabrielle enter the room, "how's the writing?" her eyes glanced down at the floor, seeing over twenty crumbled parchments everywhere. "Not good?" she smirked.

Eve sighed heavily, "Gabrielle, I don't know what to say to him!" she buried her face in her hands. Gabrielle came beside her, rubbing her back gently.

"Just tell him how you feel!" she said and Eve glanced up at her with watery eyes. "Don't cry," she smiled and wiped Eve's cheeks with her fingers. "Maybe this news will take his mind off of the war."

"Or it will distract him," Eve sighed heavily. "I can't be his vizier, Gabrielle. It's too stressful to be a wife, a princess and a vizier."

Gabrielle nodded and pulled up a chair, sitting close to her. "But you are very good at it," she smiled and Eve grinned weakly. "Remember the war between us and Octavius?" she asked and the princess nodded. "When Xena was really sick or whatever you want to call  _that_..." she chuckled, "you wanted to control everything and even took your mother's place, even though me and Samuel advised against it. You were so determined to help even if it meant facing Xena's wrath, you didn't care and did it anyway!"

Eve smiled, remembering her mother's face. "She was so angry with me." She sniffled, "but that was different. Persia is different than Greece, Gabrielle. Samuel is still the king and my words don't mean anything over there, especially with Hatima there. She is still Queen. I'm just a princess there."

Gabrielle shook her head, "you're not just a princess, Eve. You are the wife of a powerful king! Your word obviously means something if he was willing to listen to you. Your opinion is special to him and he cares about you, we all do." She looked at Eve's distressed face, "I can write the letter for you if you want?"

Eve chuckled, "no Gabrielle, I will write him myself," she grabbed the quill and dipped it in the ink. Sighing, she wrote down his name first then stared at the blank parchment. "Do you think he will be upset?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow at her disbelief. "I doubt it. He wasn't upset the first time, was he?" Eve shook her head and began writing some more. Gabrielle stood up and started to leave the room to let Eve write in peace.

Eve turned, "Gabrielle..." she called out and the woman turned around. "Would you stay here with me? I mean just so I can finish the letter and maybe you could read it –"

"I will stay," she smiled and sat back down beside her. Eve's lips curled up in a big smile and continued writing slowly as Gabrielle watched her.

* * *

Outside in the gardens Xena decided to teach Layla and Luca how to use a weapon and plus it would give Luca something to do to channel his wildness in order to calm him down. They both had small staffs and she paced in front of them, holding a larger staff of her own.

"Now, when the enemy is close to you, you don't want to leave any spots open for an attack," she began and both children's eyes went back and forth, watching her pace around.

Luca frowned, "but what if the enemy is bigger than you?" he asked, feeling hopeless already.

Xena smiled and stopped a few feet in front of them. "Size doesn't matter, as long as you know how to strike at the right time," she said and both of them looked incredibly nervous. Layla seemed more excited than Luca, though she saw his eyes were wild and he would probably be harder to train. She walked up to Luca and grabbed his staff firmly. "This is your weapon. It is your best friend."

He nodded, "my best friend?" he looked at the staff confusedly. "But it's just a stick."

"Anything can be a weapon, Luca," she swiftly knocked the staff out of his hands with her own staff and his eyes widened.

Layla's eyes grew and she smiled, "how did you do that?!" she was eager to learn now and Luca picked up his staff, frowning up at his grandmother.

"I will teach you, but you must be patient," she firmly said and both of them stared up at her. She smiled and walked a few feet backward, "alright then," she lowered herself, bending her legs holding the staff behind her. "Come attack me," her eyes narrowed and the twins looked at one another, bemused at what she said.

Luca frowned, still angry that she kicked his staff out of his hands so easily, he ran towards her with the staff and she side stepped him. He grunted and she smiled down at him, twirling the staff in her hand. He ran at her again and she blocked his attack easily then swiped the staff under his feet and he fell on his back, gawking at the sky above.

Xena walked forward and stared down at him, seeing his eyes slowly filling with tears. "Warriors don't cry," she winked and extended her hand to help him up. He stopped then grabbed her hand. "Are you alright?" she asked as she kept in mind he was just a child and very young as well. He nodded and wiped his eyes then she threw his staff to him. He ran back to go stand by his sister.

Layla smiled, stepping forward, "I want to try!" she came forward and Xena smirked at her, ready for her attack. The girl circled around Xena slowly then swung the staff, hitting Xena in her shins and hard too. The empress cringed and then stared down at Layla's devious smile. The girl ran through in between her legs then stabbed her in the back with the blunt end of the staff.

Xena grunted and rubbed her back, turning around to see Layla with a smug look on her face. She smiled and came forward thrusting the staff at Layla but she blocked it easily, without any effort at all. Surprised that her granddaughter was so skilled in this art, she let her guard down and Layla ran forward and wacked Xena right in her midsection. Xena winced, wrapping her arm around her as the throbbing pain continued.

Layla smiled and slammed the staff on the ground, "how did I do?!"

Xena breathed heavily and smiled weakly at the girl, "very...good," she croaked.

Gabrielle leaned on the column outside and saw that a little girl had beat Xena, which was impressive. "Where did you learn those moves?" she chuckled and Layla smiled at her. She saw Xena was still in pain, though she tried to hide it. "You let your own granddaughter best you, Xena!" she couldn't get over the look on her face.

Xena rolled her eyes, "I was distracted," she ran her fingers through her dark hair and Gabrielle nodded with a smug look on her face.

"Number one lesson, guys!" she said and the two ran up to her, "never let yourself become distracted in the middle of a fight or you'll end up...like that," she pointed to Xena and the two children giggled. Xena sighed and twirled the staff in her wrist, ignoring Gabrielle, feeling a bit embarrassed at herself.

"Gabrielle's right, you can't get distracted or you'll end up dead," Xena said and the two stopped giggling, seeing how serious she was. "Alright I think that's enough for today," she walked over and grabbed the two staffs from the children.

Luca frowned, "we can do it again tomorrow?" he hoped and Layla nodded, agreeing with her brother.

Xena smiled, "sure," the two children ran inside the palace and she winced. Gabrielle took the three staffs and leaned them up against the wall. "That girl is better than Eve when she was her age..." she rubbed her stomach and Gabrielle chuckled.

"You'll probably have a bruise," she linked arms with Xena and both walked inside together.

Luca and Layla ran up once they saw their mother walking straight towards them. "Mommy, guess what!" Layla said and Eve smiled down at them both.

"What?" she asked, seeing the excited faces.

"I hit teta with my staff three times!" she said excitedly and Eve's eyes widened.

"You did  _what_?" she looked behind them and saw her mother walking in with Gabrielle.

Xena saw the worried look on her daughter's face, "we were just practicing some fighting techniques..." she stared at Layla as she beamed. Eve relaxed once she heard that, placing her hand over her chest, exhaling heavily.

Layla put her hands on her small hips, "but I got you really good!" she said.

Xena nodded, "yes you certainly did..." she sighed and Gabrielle chuckled.

Eve shook her head and knelt down in front of her children, "why don't you two go to your room and get ready for your bath?" she said and both of them sighed, not wishing to take a bath right now, though they obeyed her and kissed her cheeks then ran off to their room together. Eve stood up and folded her arms at her mother, "are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Xena said waving her hand, dismissing the entire thing. "Stop worrying about me, Eve," she smiled and Eve kept staring at her. "Did you write the letter to Samuel?"

Eve looked to Gabrielle with a shy smile, "yes I did. I sent it off awhile ago. He should receive it in a few weeks."

"Good," she bobbed her head and pat her daughter's shoulder, "I'm going to my room. Don't bother me," she walked off wincing at the pain still present. Gabrielle chuckled and Xena called out, "Gabrielle!"

"Coming!" the blonde ran after Xena and Eve sighed heavily as she saw the two talking with one another, or rather arguing playfully.

* * *

A couple of hours passed and Xena had washed her hair, spending a long time in the baths. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw a huge purple bruise on her abdomen and shook her head. Gabrielle took the towel off her hair and saw the bruise on Xena's stomach.

"Whoa!" she came up and looked closer at it. Xena frowned and Gabrielle touched it, causing Xena to tense up.

"Don't touch it!" she slapped her hand away and wrapped the robe around her body, tying the sash around her waist. She then sat on her bed and began combing her long hair.

Gabrielle chuckled, "you're such a baby sometimes," she rubbed her wet locks and Xena sat sulking. "How does it feel to be beaten by a girl who is twice as small as you?" she said and the empress glared up at her, combing her hair harder.

"I told you, I was distracted..." she hated to admit.

Gabrielle sat beside her and snatched the comb from her hands. She began combing through Xena's wet hair, "you're just out of practice that's all," she smirked, enjoying this moment. She hardly ever saw Xena beaten and especially by a little girl! It was great. She would remember this moment forever.

"Maybe it's a good thing that I am out of practice," she chuckled under her breath.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Gabrielle asked, stopping combing her hair.

Xena turned to her, "I don't have to fight anyone anymore, Gabrielle. I rather have my ass handed to me by my own granddaughter than a Roman any day," she teased and the blonde smiled, then kissed her cheek softly.

"She was pretty good!" Gabrielle admitted and Xena nodded, still a bit embarrassed. "She will be a great warrior one day."

"I don't think Eve would want her to be a warrior, Gabrielle," she mused.

Gabrielle shrugged, "she's Eve's daughter, I don't think she would be able to control her when she comes of age."

Xena nodded, "yes...Eve was the same way. I would like to be around to see that happen!" she joked and Gabrielle agreed with her. "Although Luca...I imagine he will be quite a handful by the time he is a teenager."

"He definitely has a wild spirit. Hopefully he grows out of that phase before he is a teenager," she smiled and kept combing Xena's hair.

"He reminds me of myself. I always bossed my brothers around and they hated me for it. even when I was sixteen, I fought Toris for a bag of...apples," she sighed, thinking of those simpler times.

Gabrielle laughed out loud, "you fought your brother for a bag of apples?!"

Xena smirked, "it wasn't about the apples. I just wanted to fight. Spoiler, I won," she chuckled softly.

"Of course you did," Gabrielle finished combing her hair and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Do you miss them?" she asked as Xena still had her back to her.

The empress turned around with sorrowful eyes, "yes I do. I wish they could be here with me sometimes to see how much I have changed..."

Gabrielle crawled over on the bed and wrapped her arm around Xena. "I think they are watching you all the time," she smiled softly and Xena turned her with tear filled eyes. "They would be very proud of you," she winked and the empress smiled weakly, lowering her gaze.

"I still wish I could see them one last time," she sighed and Gabrielle rubbed her chin, thinking of an idea she would have to save for later.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Hatima received a letter from Rome and knew it was from Xena, obviously. She walked into her son's bedroom and saw he was at his desk writing and signing important documents. He returned from Scythia a few weeks ago and Nimrood agreed to his truce and promised not to attack the borders anymore. She knew that took a deep blow to her son's ego, but she knew that Eve's decision to do this was for the best. Eve knew more about war than Samuel did because of Xena.

Samuel finished signing the last document and his councilmen left the room carrying the large stack of parchment. He smiled softly at his mother. "More documents?" he sighed, feeling exhausted.

She grinned, "a letter from Rome," she handed it to him and he grabbed it instantly, now not feeling so drained anymore. He smiled, seeing that the letter was written by Eve. He recognized her handwriting anywhere as he had seen her write many letters over the years for him.

He stood up, frowning as he continued to read over the letter. Hatima raised an eyebrow and immediately thought something bad happened. He plopped back down in his chair and ran his fingers through his wavy hair, exhaling deeply. His mother leaned down and he stared up at her with wide eyes. "Eve is pregnant," he said softly.

" _What_?!" Hatima grabbed the letter and read it for herself. A smile graced her lips, "Samuel, this is great news!" she peered down at her son and saw he wasn't too thrilled. "What's the matter? Aren't you happy?"

He nodded, "I am happy!" he stood up and began pacing around his room. His mother then sat down in his chair and kept staring at him, nervously pacing. "I just wish she was here with me...and the children too," he groaned, feeling frustrated. He slammed his fist against the wall, "but Xena wants her to stay there for awhile. She always does this!"

Hatima sighed and walked over to her son, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Samuel, Xena is Eve's mother and she only wants to protect her."

"But Eve is married to  _me_! She belongs here, not in... _Rome_!" he scoffed, folding his arms.

The queen frowned, "stop acting like this, Samuel. Now that the war is at a hiatus, I think you should go to Rome and see Eve and your children." She said and he breathed more normally now, relaxing as his gripped his shoulder firmly.

He turned around, looking in his mother's big green eyes. "What will I say to them? They don't even know me."

Hatima smiled, "I'm sure they will love you. You will have to meet them eventually."

He instantly felt a knot in his stomach and became extremely nervous. He had not seen his children since they were babies and they were five years old now. They probably looked like Eve, he imagined. Eve said that Luca had black wavy hair and Layla had red brown long hair. Both had green eyes and he smiled, thinking about meeting them, though he was afraid that they wouldn't like him.

"Alright, I will leave tomorrow," he kissed his mother's cheeks, "thank you."

"shall I write a letter to Eve about your arrival?" she asked as he grabbed his cloak, getting ready to leave.

He smiled, "yes! I have some things to take care of before I leave," he left his room as the guards opened the doors. He marched out of his room to inform his general that he would be leaving for awhile.

* * *

_Palmyra, Assyria_

Allat walked into his bedroom and saw Solan sleeping in the bed comfortably. He had half the sheets covering his bare body and his mouth wide open. He smirked and opened the curtains, letting all the sunlight in. Solan stirred awake and groaned, covering his eyes. "What the hell?" he mumbled and rolled over on his side.

"Too much wine for you?" the king chuckled and Solan grumbled, covering himself with the blankets. Allat climbed onto the bed and tapped the blonde prince's shoulder. "I have a letter from your little sister."

Solan turned over with a big smile on his face, "really?" he grabbed the letter from Allat's hand and ripped open the seal. He read over the short message and sighed heavily. "That Persian keeps getting my sister pregnant."

Allat's eyes widened, snatching the letter so he could read it for himself. "I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner!" he laughed and Solan hit his arm. "Ouch, jeez."

"That's my sister you're talking about," he frowned and Allat smirked. He sat up and leaned on the pillows with his arms behind him. "Remind me to kill Samuel later," he smiled and Allat rolled his eyes.

Allat stood up and threw Solan's clothes at him, "we should go to Rome see her!" he said and Solan thought about it for moment. "I'm sure she misses you a lot."

Solan lifted his brows and smiled, "well, I'm the best brother ever," he said arrogantly. He saw the Assyrian with a doubtful look on his face. "Okay fine, we will go to Rome," he rolled his eyes. "I wonder how my mother is doing with those two monsters."

Allat shook his head, "I feel bad for her. If they're anything like Eve when she was a kid, I could only imagine how those two turned out."

"Well, they're definitely not little angels that's for sure." Solan got out of bed and began dressing himself, yawning, still quite tired from last night. "Eve was a devil child –spoiled little brat," he shook his head remembering those days when Eve was a child. She was quite a handful. "I was always the one stuck babysitting her while my mother went off and did her politicking and crap."

Allat chuckled, "and look at her now!"

"Yeah, now she's a big spoiled brat," Solan laughed and hooked arms with Allat, walking out of the bedroom. "We should bring gifts for Luca and Layla! I'm sure my mother and my sister have spoiled them, but...what kid doesn't like gifts?" he smirked.

* * *

A few weeks passed and Eve had received the letter from Hatima, saying that Samuel would be coming to Rome. She was sure he would arrive at any time today, as some of her mother's men told her that they saw a large Persian entourage enter Rome a few hours ago.

Eve made sure to dress Luca and Layla in their best clothes. Both wore black and gold accented outfits. Layla wore a long dress, matching Eve's and Luca wore a black tunic with gold pants. She bent down and fixed Layla's sash around her small waist and fixed Luca's hair.

Luca frowned, "mommy, stop it," he slapped his mother's hand away from his hair. "I look fine!" he pouted.

She grinned, "I know you do," she moved to Layla and ran her fingers through her daughter's wavy hair.

Layla stared into her mother's eyes, "do you think he will like us?" she asked softly.

Eve frowned and brushed her hand along Layla's cheek. "Of course he will, don't worry," she kissed her forehead then grabbed both of their hands, walking towards the entrance together.

Xena and Gabrielle waited by the entrance watching them walk down the hallway. "They clean up nicely," Gabrielle whispered.

"I'll give them an hour before they ruin those outfits," Xena smiled and Gabrielle shook her head.

Samuel rode up to the Roman fortress on a big black stallion with a caravan following behind him and his ten royal guardsmen trailing beside him. He smiled seeing Eve waiting for him and the two children glued to her legs.

He halted his horse and jumped off, eager to get to Eve. He felt like he hadn't seen her in forever, even though it had only been barely two months since she left Persia. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her small frame and kissed her lips generously.

Luca and Layla looked up at their parents with wide eyes. Luca clutched onto his mother's dress and Eve pulled away from Samuel.

"How are you?" he asked, brushing a tendril behind her ear.

"I'm fine," she said and looked down at the two scared children, holding onto her dress. "I have two very special people that want to meet you," she smiled and knelt down in between the two children. She pushed them forward gently and their eyes were wide, staring up at Samuel.

He smiled down at them and thought that Luca definitely looked a lot like Eve, though Layla's hair reminded him of Eve's and she had his own mother's face. Both had green eyes, matching his and Hatima's. he knelt down and stared at their big eyes. "Hello," he said and both children remained quiet, frozen. Layla grabbed Luca's hand and they came closer together. He looked up to Eve, feeling a bit intimidated by his own children and their lack of her response. She smiled at him and urged him to keep talking to them.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you both," he said and they kept staring at him blankly. "Your mother tells me stories about you two when she comes back to Persia!"

Luca finally smiled a little, though Layla remained skeptical. Samuel reached forward and touched Layla's dress. "That's a pretty dress you have there. Where did you get it?"

Layla smiled as her cheeks blushed, "Gabby got it for me."

He smiled at her, "ah Gabrielle, of course," he nodded. "You know...in Persia I can give you a thousand dresses, even better than this one," he winked and she finally smiled largely.

Luca stepped forward and touched his father's black robes, "when can we go to Persia?"

Samuel looked to Eve and she folded her arms. "Well, I will have to talk to your mother first, but I think you will really like it there." He poked Luca's nose and the child blushed.

"Are there cookies in Persia?" Luca slyly asked.

Eve frowned, "Luca!" she snapped and the boy's eyes grew in fear and Samuel chuckled at him. Obviously cookies were a big problem here.

"There's not a lot of cookies in Persia, I'm afraid," he saw disappointment on his son's face. "But we do have this dessert called helva," he said and Luca's eyes lit up. Eve buried her face in her hands and Samuel saw she disapproved and he smirked. "It's a block of sugar filled with nuts and honey. I think you would like it very much."

Luca's mouth gaped and turned to look up at his mother, "mommy, do they have hel...hel," he frowned, "what is it called?" he whispered to his father.

"Helva," Samuel said, enjoying his son's excitement, though Eve wasn't too thrilled about it.

The boy nodded, "right, helva. Do they have that here?" he asked with a big cheesy grin.

"Gods, I hope not..." Eve muttered. "Luca, what did we talk about?" she folded her arms.

Luca sighed dramatically, "no sweets for a whole month, I know, I know," he frowned.

Samuel smiled and turned to Layla as she was being very quiet. "You don't like sweets very much do you?" he asked and she shook her head, a bit shy to look at him. "What do you like?" he grabbed her hand and she smiled softly.

"I like horses," she said and he nodded, seeing the excitement slowly overcome her. "Gabby lets me ride her horse sometimes. It's really big and white too!"

"Oh  _really_?" he said and she bobbed her head. "Well, I can get you all the horses you want. In every color, too!" he said and the girl's eyes widened. He then grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. She smiled brightly then Luca grabbed his hand.

"Me and Layla can show you our room!" he began pulling his father up the steps and Layla held his hand, walking up the stairs with them.

Eve sighed and walked up the stairs and saw her mother and Gabrielle standing by the entrance, watching the entire time. Xena smirked, "I think they like him."

"I hope so," Eve said and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I knew Luca couldn't resist asking about cookies," Gabrielle chuckled.

Eve frowned, not quite happy that her son was so hooked on sweets. She looked at both women, "who's idea was it to give him cookies in the first place?"

Gabrielle's eyes slowly went to Xena and Eve folded her arms, glaring at her mother. Xena looked at both of them and smiled nervously. "What?" she said and Eve kept staring at her waiting for an explanation. "Like I could say no to that boy, give me a break."

"Mother!" Eve rubbed her forehead.

Xena wrapped her arm around Eve and made her walk with her down the hallway. "They're just cookies, Eve. Don't get so upset about it," she nervously tried to defend herself.

Gabrielle gasped, "Xena are you serious?!" she ran up to them and began walking backwards in front of them. "You yelled at me for giving Eve a piece of cake when she was six years old!"

"Oh yes, I remember that," Eve smiled and then cringed, thinking of her mother's horrifying face at the time when she was caught with a large piece of cake.

Xena snarled at Gabrielle, "that was different. She already had eaten the entire cake...without me knowing about it!" she said and then Gabrielle was about to protest, then realized that Eve was definitely a troublemaker back then and had forgotten what a handful she used to be. "And then she threw it up later...in  _my_  room."

Eve sighed, rolling her eyes, "can we not talk about that right now?"

"Oh no I think we should talk about it since Gabrielle likes to bring these things up," Xena challenged Gabrielle and the blonde smiled, nodding her head.

"Alright, alright," Gabrielle hooked arms with Xena, "you also yelled at me for giving Eve watermelon on her birthday."

Xena smiled, "yes and then she also threw up but on me that time."

"Well, I didn't expect her to eat the entire bowl..." Gabrielle scoffed.

Eve was starting to feel sick the more those two spoke about these incidents. "Can we please stop talking about this?" she begged.

Xena looked to Gabrielle, "or how about that time you gave wine to her when she was sixteen?" Gabrielle then lowered her eyes now feeling embarrassed.

"I didn't know she was going to drink the entire bottle!"

Eve cringed and felt her stomach already churning at the thought of those memories rushing through her mind. "I would really appreciate it...if you stop talking," she said firmly. Gabrielle bit her bottom lip and Xena almost forgot and pat her daughter's hand.

"We're sorry, Eve," Xena said and kissed her daughter's cheek. "You should go rest for awhile."

Eve nodded, "I think I might just do that..." she walked off by herself with her arms folded, trying not to think about anything else but the bed.

"Gosh, Gabrielle, way to go," Xena teased and walked off without her. Gabrielle's jaw dropped.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" she ran up to her, "this is my fault now? You're the one that gave cookies to Luca and now he's obsessed with them!"

Xena sighed, "let it go Gabrielle."

"No!" Gabrielle began mocking Xena, " _don't give Eve cake, she'll get sick_ ," she began and Xena sighed heavily, " _don't give Eve watermelon, she'll get sick_ ," she folded her arms defiantly.

Xena chuckled, "it seems you have a knack for making my daughter sick, Gabrielle. Exhibit A," she jested and Gabrielle gasped loudly.

"It's not my fault that she's pregnant," Gabrielle said.

"No that would be Samuel's department," Xena answered slyly and Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

"I don't remember you being sick at all when you carried Eve," she thought about all the times and couldn't think of one time either. "But you ate a lot," she chuckled and Xena shot her a glare. "It took you forever to get your figure back!" she now started laughing and Xena frowned, not really liking how Gabrielle kept on and on, teasing her.

"Yes, I remember..." Xena mumbled. Gabrielle's laughter died down as she saw the disapproving look on her face.

She cleared her throat, "but you still looked beautiful of course," she added trying to save herself. Xena hummed to herself quietly, ignoring Gabrielle. She then started chuckling again, "but your hips were huge for like...a year!"

" _Gabrielle_!" Xena yelled finally and the blonde shut her mouth.

"Doesn't seem to affect Eve much," Gabrielle continued teasing her. "She was still really thin even when she was pregnant with the twins!"

"Are you finished?" Xena stopped and glared at the short blonde.

Gabrielle gave her a cheesy smile, "yes."

"Thank the gods for that," Xena sighed and kept walking along with Gabrielle trailing beside her.

They walked together in silence and Gabrielle was itching to tease her some more. "Remember when you –"

"Do you really want to go down this road, Gabrielle?" Xena glared at her.

"You know what, never mind," Gabrielle chuckled nervously.

* * *

Samuel sat on the floor of his children's bedroom as they were showing him all of their toys. He had been in there for a couple of hours now and didn't mind even though they kept talking a lot. He simply smiled the entire time, enjoying their company.

"And mommy gave us this last year," Luca walked up with a box and Samuel looked at it. Luca opened it and it was a chess set.

"Wow, a chess set. You know your mother and I used to play all the time," he smiled and Luca's eyes widened.

Layla crawled over on the floor and sat close to him, snuggling against his robes. "Can you teach us how to play?" she looked up at him.

Samuel nodded, "sure I can teach you, but first I need to check on your mother," he said and they both looked disappointed. "But I promise I will teach you both how to play. It requires a lot of patience!"

"I have patience," Luca said and his sister made a disgusted face at him.

"No you don't, Luca!" she said and folded her arms. Samuel raised an eyebrow at them both.

"Yes I do, Layla!"

Samuel frowned at them both arguing with each other. "Okay! That's enough!" he said firmly and immediately both of them stopped bickering. "No more fighting, alright? A prince and princess of Persia do not act like that." Luca lowered his eyes as did Layla, feeling ashamed of themselves. He picked up Layla and set her on the bed then picked up Luca setting him down next to his sister. "I'm going check on your mother and I don't want to hear any more arguing, okay?" both children nodded. "I'll be back later," he smiled and kissed both of their foreheads before leaving.

* * *

Finally reaching Eve's room he sighed and took off his turban, throwing it on the chair. He looked at the bed and saw Eve sleeping, still wearing her dress she wore earlier. He smiled and gently sat down on the bed beside her, watching her chest slowly rise and fall as she slept peacefully.

Eve stirred in her sleep and sighed heavily. He brushed his hand over her hair and laid down beside her, just staring. He glanced down at her slightly swollen abdomen and smiled, resting his hand over the baby inside her. Eve's eyes fluttered open as soon as she felt his touch. "What are you doing?" she smiled.

"Nothing," he winked and she yawned, scooting closer to him. "How are you feeling?"

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arm over his body, "tired," she muttered sleepily. "How are the children?"

Samuel sighed and leaned back on the headboard of the bed, "they showed me all their toys and games. They even gave me a tour of their room," he chuckled and she smiled softly, inching closer to his body. "Xena spoils them too much."

"I know," Eve whispered, "just let her," she smiled and opened her eyes, staring up at him.

He raised an eyebrow, "you are allowing her to do this?" he was skeptical.

"Samuel, she has been taking care of them for four years. Just let her do what she wants," she said, nestling against his chest. "Your mother did the same when they were babies. What's the difference?"

"Um, the difference was at the time, they couldn't say no and demand more things. Now those two think they can get whatever they want," he sighed, feeling a headache coming along.

She sat up and stared into his green eyes, "Samuel, just forget about it. They are well behaved...most of the time," she grinned.

He sighed deeply, "well hopefully when the baby arrives, they will behave better."

Eve nodded, "I think they will. They seemed very excited about it," she smiled and he looked at her with disbelief. A few moments of silence passed between them and she became nervous. "And you? Are you happy?"

His eyes widened and wrapped his arm around her, "of course! What makes you think otherwise?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "you are very occupied in Persia. I just thought..."

He grabbed her hands, staring in her blue eyes, "you don't have anything to worry about. I may be busy but I will always make time for you and the children," he winked and kissed her forehead. She relaxed a bit, knowing that he was happy about this and not upset like she thought he would be. He sighed and leaned his head on the pillows, "Luca is going to be a problem, though."

She agreed, "he likes to make his own rules."

He smirked, "remind you of anyone?" he teased and she hit his arm. He winced and thought he deserved that.

* * *

The following day Solan and Allat walked through the entrance of the Roman palace. Solan had a bottle of wine in his hands, ready to share with everyone. They walked through the grand hallway and found everyone sitting in the atrium.

"So, is this where the party is at?" he announced.

Xena lifted her head and smiled seeing him, "Solan!" she got up off the floor as she was playing a game with Layla. She embraced him warmly and he chuckled softly.

"Nice to see you too, mother," he choked as he could barely breathe. She pulled away and looked at his face, examining his body. "No scars, no cuts, I'm good, okay?" he teased and she rolled her eyes.

Gabrielle came running up to him and hugged him as well, almost knocking him over. He pat her back and then she pulled away and hit his arm. "Where have you been?!"

He winced, rubbing his arm, "jeez, Gabrielle! I've been a bit busy..." he admitted softly and she folded her arms, glaring at him.

Eve stood up and waited patiently behind Gabrielle. Solan smiled at her then came for her, picking her up in the air easily. She gasped, "Solan!" he spun her around and hugged her tightly.

"You were always light as a feather," he smiled and kissed her forehead. "So, a baby?" he raised his eyebrow and she nodded. "Well congratulations to you, little sister," he pinched her cheek and she frowned, slapping his hand away from her face.

"Would you stop that?" she rubbed her cheek and he smirked, looking behind his sister he saw Luca and Layla, staring at their mother, very confused.

He stepped in front of his sister and knelt down in front of the children, "wow, you squirts are so big now!" he smiled and both children looked at him with wide eyes. "You don't remember me, but I used to watch you guys when you were babies," he smiled. "Your mother is my little sister."

Layla gasped, "mommy, you have a brother too?!" she couldn't believe it. Eve chuckled softly and Solan brought out two gifts for them.

"I brought you two some presents," he said and both of them ran forward, taking the presents in their hands.

"As if those two need any more presents," Samuel muttered and Solan stood up, staring at the Persian king.

"Ah, Samuel," the blonde smiled and Samuel grinned nervously. Solan wrapped his arm around the king, bringing him close to him. "You got my little sister pregnant,  _again_..." he said and Samuel's eyes widened in fear.

Eve rolled her eyes, "Solan knock it off," she grabbed her brother's hand pulling him away from Samuel. The Persian silently thanked her, always a bit afraid of Solan's protective nature over Eve.

"You and I will talk later," Solan said to Samuel with a smile and the king remained silent.

Layla opened her gift and pulled out a golden quill. Her eyes widened, amazed at the pretty quill. "Wow, is this real gold?"

Solan smiled, "yes it is! My mother gave it to me a long time ago."

Xena smiled and came closer to watch them both open their presents. "I didn't know you kept that," she whispered to her son.

He scoffed, "of course I did! I got it for my fifteenth birthday in this very palace. I'll never forget it," he grinned, winking at his mother.

Layla got up and ran to Gabrielle, "will you teach me how to use it, Gabby?" she pleaded.

"Yes I will, of course," Gabrielle kissed her forehead.

Luca opened his gift and pulled out a Greek dagger. "Awesome!" he smiled and Eve's eyes widened, instantly looking to her mother.

Xena squeezed her son's shoulder, "Solan..." she grimaced.

"Relax, the blade is dull. It can't even cut parchment," he chuckled and Xena squeezed his shoulder more. "Ouch!" he cringed and stepped away from her, now afraid of what she might do to him.

Eve stepped forward and knelt down in front of her son, "now Luca, you know that is a real weapon and you have to be careful with it."

The boy nodded, "yes mommy, I will be really careful!" he smiled. She sighed as she saw he was already playing with it like a toy.

Samuel walked up to her and frowned, "your brother is out of his damn mind!" he whispered in her ear.

Eve smirked, "don't worry, my mother will teach him that it is not a toy."

His eyes grew, already angry, "you're going to let him use it?!" he frowned and she glared at him.

Gabrielle observed the two wild children very pleased and fascinated with their gifts. Solan was showing Luca how to use the weapon, though he calmly explained to him that it could hurt someone. Xena stood beside her with a smile on her face, enjoying the scene. She tugged on her arm, "Xena, I have something for you," she whispered.

Xena frowned, "what is it?" Gabrielle smiled and grabbed her arm pulling her away from the family gathering.

* * *

They came to the bedroom and Gabrielle shut the door. Xena frowned, looking around, quite confused as to why she was in their room. "What is going on, Gabrielle?" she folded her arms.

Aphrodite appeared and Xena rolled her eyes. "Why so glum?" she teased. "Look, warrior babe, I am only doing this because Gabrielle asked me to."

Xena snapped her head towards Gabrielle. "What did you do?!"

The goddess grabbed Xena's hands pulling her close and Xena cringed, "relax! Hades owes me a favor and Gabrielle asked me to do something nice for you since you...well, you kind of need some excitement in your life!"

Xena raised an eyebrow, "my life is already exciting, Aphrodite." She replied with a flat tone.

"You are making this so difficult!" the blonde goddess rolled her eyes, sighing heavily. "Just close your eyes."

Xena glared at her then looked to Gabrielle, "what is the meaning of this?"

Gabrielle chuckled, "just trust her, okay?" she smiled, waiting for Xena to comply, after all, she had begged Aphrodite enough for this.

Xena sighed and closed her eyes, "now what?" she asked and Aphrodite smiled, winking at Gabrielle.

* * *

A few moments later Xena was getting tired of having her eyes closed and she had no idea what was going. "Hello?" she said, getting annoyed.

"Xena?" a familiar voice came around and Xena opened her eyes, turning around to see her younger brother, Lyceus standing behind her. Her eyes wandered around and they were no longer in her bedroom, no they were somewhere else. She looked at all the trees and the peaceful sky above them. Lyceus walked over to her and smiled, seeing her after such a long time. "Xena..." he waved his hand in front of her face.

She smiled at her younger brother and touched his face then pulled her hand away, not really sure if this was real not. He laughed at her, "what's the matter with you?!" he came and hugged her and her eyes widened, feeling his touch after a long time, she smiled warmly. "You are old," he mused and she kept smiling, lowering her gaze.

He touched her long hair and she lifted her eyes, staring at his blue eyes, "and you still look the same," she ran her fingers through his blonde hair that reminded her so much of Solan. "Lyceus..." she began sadly and touched his face, "I'm so sorry about what happened to you..." her eyes filled with tears.

Her little brother shrugged his shoulder, "it wasn't your fault," he grinned and he wiped her eyes. "Hey, you never cry!" he chuckled and she smiled. "Did you finally become the greatest warlord in all of Greece?" he asked.

Xena sighed, "not exactly..." she laughed curtly, "I became empress instead."

Lyceus' eyes grew, "wow! An empress!" he grabbed her hand, pulling her along, "we must tell Toris!" he grinned and Xena feared seeing her elder brother.

They walked into a home and Xena saw her brother with his wife that had died long ago. "Toris, guess who is here?!" Lyceus yelled out and their brother lifted his eyes and saw his little sister, standing in the doorway.

He set down some fruit and walked over, brushing passed his wife. Xena stared at him, a bit afraid of his reaction. Toris touched Xena's face and he looked at her body, she still looked the same to him. "Xena?" he said quietly, not believing it. His fingers slipped through her long hair and she stayed still. He suddenly embraced her tightly and she relaxed a little bit.

Lyceus smiled, eating an apple, staring at the two. "This is nice," he nodded.

Toris pulled away and smiled at her, "what are you doing here? You aren't dead are you?"

Xena smiled, shaking her head. "No, I'm not. Not yet anyway," she joked. "Toris..." she began slowly, "I'm...I'm really sorry –"

"Xena, it wasn't your fault. It was Phraates and Marc Antony," he said.

"Let me finish," she said and he shut his mouth real quick. "I should have helped you when I had the chance, but I didn't and I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" she asked, hoping that he would.

Toris' eyes widened, not expecting an apology. "Wow," he said and she waited. "You are not the woman I remember," he smiled and she grinned weakly. "I forgave you a long time ago, Xena."

"Really?" her eyes lit up and he nodded. That made her feel a lot better knowing that her brother did not hate her forever, like she thought he would.

"How is your son?" he asked and she was shocked to hear him ask that.

"you remember?" she smiled and he scoffed.

Lyceus jumped off the stool and ran towards his siblings. "Xena, you had a baby?" he asked and she nodded, chuckling at his face. "Wow! I have missed so much!" he smiled.

Xena's smile disappeared, remembering the death of her brother. It would never leave her mind. He had been here for so long, of course he missed a lot. He remained the same age when he died. He was only a teenager, probably fourteen or so, and she was so much older than him now.

Toris smiled, ruffling his brother's hair. He grabbed Xena's hand, "you really are old you know," he chuckled and Xena smiled.

"I'm not that old, Toris," she teased and he nodded, leading her to a mirror. She stared at her reflection and realized time had passed by so quickly in her life, though she looked pretty much the same, minus a few wrinkles around her eyes.

"Perhaps, Lyceus will you remember better like this..." he waved his hand over the mirror and Xena's eyes widened staring at herself. She was a lot younger in appearance and touched her face. She was a teenager, only seventeen and her hair quite long like it used to be. She had almost forgotten what her young face had looked like.

Lyceus tapped her shoulder and she turned around. "Yeah, I remember you like that!" he said and she smiled widely at him. "Will you be staying with us?"

She shook her head, "no, I can't stay," she said and saw the disappointed look on his face. She grabbed his hands in her own, "but I will see you soon!" she smiled and that seemed to lighten his mood.

"Promise?" he lifted his eyebrows and she nodded.

"You will be happy here," she said and he kept grinning at her. She turned to her older brother, "I'm sorry I can't stay," she admitted sadly.

Toris smirked, "you are an empress of Greece! I'm sure you are very busy," he winked and she chuckled softly to herself. "But we do miss you."

"I miss you too," she smiled and hugged him warmly, though she didn't really want to let go.

* * *

Back in the bedroom Xena opened her eyes and saw Gabrielle sitting on the bed patiently. She turned around and felt like she was still with her brothers. "Gabrielle..."

"Did you have fun on your trip to the Elysian Fields?" the blonde smirked, seeing the happy look on her face.

"I saw both of them –both of my brothers," she smiled and clamped her hands together, finally being able to see their faces after so long. "Thank you Gabrielle," she said, not sure if a thank you was good enough.

Gabrielle stood up and grabbed her hands, "you're welcome," she kissed her hands and Xena lowered her eyes. "So how is Lyceus?"

"He looks just like Solan!" the empress marveled. Gabrielle nodded and she sat and listened to Xena tell her experience of seeing her brothers for the first time in decades. She had never seen Xena so chatty in her entire life and for once, she wasn't the one talking.


	51. Chapter 51

**AN: it is almost complete, sad day ;( but enjoy this piece! Sorry for Samuel's assholeness lol, he'll lighten up..later.**

Chapter 51

Eve was finally able to sit somewhere in peace to write this treaty that she and Samuel discussed together a couple of weeks ago. She decided to write the treaty for him instead of sitting down together.

She kept staring at the parchment and tapped the feather against her arm, trying to figure out the best way to word this treaty so she wouldn't upset the Scythian king. It was a miracle enough that Samuel convinced Nimrood to a truce, but it wasn't enough. The truce wouldn't last, so Eve took it upon on herself to write a treaty of peace just like her mother did many times throughout her life. She never realized how hard it was to write one of these and was becoming frustrated. Inside, she wanted to get her mother and ask her for help, but she also felt embarrassed to keep asking her mother for help and not do anything by herself.

Luca ran up and saw his mother in the dining room, staring at the table. He bit into an apple and Eve jumped at the loud crunching sound. She peered down and saw her son smiling up at her. "Whatcha doing?" he asked, trying to see what was on the table.

She sighed, "I'm working on something very important," she said and hoped he'd go away but that was unlikely as he began climbing up her leg. "Luca..." he sat on her lap and stared up at her, eating his apple casually. "I'm glad that you are not eating so many treats anymore," she ruffled his hair.

He grinned up at her, "yeah, it's not so bad but baba promised me that I can try helva when we go to Persia," his eyes lit up with excitement.

Eve rubbed her forehead, "alright, but only a little bit. If you eat too much of it you will get sick," she smiled then her eyes widened as she was beginning to sound like her mother. Luca nodded, satisfied enough with that answer as he expected her to get super angry like she did when she found out he liked to eat cookies a lot. "Luca, I'm very busy, can you go play with your sister?"

He shook his head, "Layla is busy with Gabby. She's teaching her how to write with that golden feather thing," he smiled and looked at his mother's work and saw a lot of parchments spread across the table. "Can I help you?"

His mother sighed heavily, feeling exhausted as she had been sitting in this spot for hours now and so far only wrote two pages. It didn't help that she didn't have any documents from Persia with her right now. "I don't think you can help me with this Luca, but thank you for offering," she smiled.

"Can I sit with you then?" he asked and she pursed her lips. "Please? I'll be really quiet," he smiled and she relented, allowing him to stay. He adjusted himself on her lap and watched her as she began reading over the parchment and he kept eating his apple, as quietly as he could, being very patient.

Samuel marched into the dining room and saw Eve working on the treaty with Luca sitting on her lap. "Eve, I need to talk to you," he folded his arms and she frowned, finally able to concentrate and now she was interrupted yet again.

"Samuel, I'm working on the treaty, can't it wait?" she asked.

"No! Your brother is driving me insane!" he threw his hands in the air and Luca stared up at his father with wide eyes. "He keeps telling me that I should continue to go to war with Nimrood!"

Eve covered Luca's ears with her hands and frowned up at him, "Samuel, can we talk about this without our son here?" she whispered.

He folded his arms and stared at his son as he kept eating his apple. "Fine, can he go in the other room?" he asked and Eve lifted an eyebrow at him.

She ran her fingers through Luca's hair, "can you go find your grandmother, I'm sure she would love to teach you some more fighting moves?" she smiled and he sighed, not really wanting to leave.

"You want me to leave?" he asked with sad eyes and she exhaled sharply, seeing his sweet face. "Okay, I will go..." he hopped off his mother's lap and ran off to find Xena so his parents could talk alone.

Eve stood up and folded her arms, staring into her husband's infuriated eyes. "What is the matter with you? You saw Luca was here and you want to talk about war? Right now?!" she groaned.

"This is more important, Eve." He replied.

Her eyes widened, " _more_  important? More important than our son? Samuel, he is a child and I don't want him to hear us talking about war and violence."

He scoffed, "you were surrounded by war when you were a child, Eve! This is not different!"

"No I was not!" she stepped forward and narrowed her eyes, "my mother kept me away from her politics and war. She made sure I had no idea what was going on until I was old enough to understand. I was not involved in war until I was eleven years old and that was by accident." She sighed, feeling more exhausted now as she was draining herself talking to Samuel about this.

"Then..." he groaned, "then tell your brother to stop bringing this up! I'm tired of him belittling me and my decision to pull back." He said and saw her eyes lower. "Actually, this was  _your_  idea, not mine, so he should be talking to you not me."

She felt a cramp in her side and rested her hand on her lower back, wincing at the subtle pain. "Samuel, I thought you wanted to come here and see our children, not discuss politics."

He frowned and sighed heavily, "I did come here to see my children  _and_  you." She rolled her eyes and cringed as the pain returned, she rubbed her lower back and didn't really want to talk with him anymore.

"Samuel, I don't want to fight with you," her voice was tired and drained. He frowned and walked off in a hurry. She sat down and buried her face in her hands, feeling incredibly stressed out.

* * *

Layla came out of her room with Gabrielle and saw her father walking down the hallway. She smiled at him as she held the parchment she wrote on, trying to learn how to write with Gabrielle's help of course. "Baba! You want to see my writing?" she asked and he put his hand up and kept walking.

"Not now, Layla," he said and stormed off.

She frowned sadly and Gabrielle placed her hands on her shoulders. "I'm sure he's very busy, Layla. He will probably look at it later," she smiled and Layla sighed softly.

The girl's eyes lit up and looked to Gabrielle, "can we go show mommy my writing?" she hoped.

"Sure, let's go find her," Gabrielle grabbed Layla's hand and they walked to the dining room to find Eve.

* * *

Luca had been wandering around the palace trying to find his grandmother. He finally heard some whistling from outside and ran to the back entrance to see her training a horse. He finished his apple and ran outside to the horse pin.

"Teta, what are you doing?!" he smiled and jumped up on the pin, leaning on the railing. Xena lifted her eyes and saw the boy was watching her.

She smiled and hit the backside of the horse with a whip and the horse reared back, running around her in a circle. "I'm trying to tame this horse," she said and began slowly circling around herself, watching the horse trot slowly. She grabbed a rope and put her hand up to the horse, "I'm not going to hurt you," she smiled and the horse shook his head, scraping his hoof on the ground.

Luca's eyes widened as he watched her slowly come closer to the horse. He knew his sister liked horses and he wasn't too fond of them as they scared him because of their size. Xena inched closer then threw the rope over the horse's neck and he cried out, trying to resist her. Luca gasped and Xena pulled the rope tighter. She clenched her teeth and finally she made the large horse submit to her.

The horse calmed down and Xena climbed on top of the horse. Smiling she brushed the horse's mane and he trotted around the pin. Luca smiled, "wow! How did you do that?" he asked.

"A lot of practice," Xena grinned and rode over to him. She hopped off the horse and grabbed Luca by his waist and set him on top of the brown horse. He instantly felt afraid and she held onto the rope. "Don't be afraid, Luca. Horses are gentle creatures."

He breathed in slowly and clutched onto the horse's mane as Xena held onto the rope, the horse slowly began trotting around the pin. He began humming quietly and Xena smiled, "it's not so bad is it?" she said and he smiled as the horse was trotting around at a fair speed. "I think he likes you."

"Really? You think so?" Luca grinned and Xena stayed close by to make sure nothing happened. "I want a horse!"

"Maybe you will have one someday," Xena chuckled softly seeing the boy really excited. His face reminded her of Eve when she was a little girl. She was so excited to ride on a horse for the first time and soon she became obsessed with horses by the time she was six years old. She had a favorite white horse that she loved a lot until he died when she was fourteen. She'll never forget the look on her face when her best friend died, she was so upset for a long time and even refused to ride another horse until she was sixteen.

Xena pulled on the rope, halting the horse. She picked up Luca and set him on the ground."Aweh, we're finished?" he pouted and she smiled, taking the rope off the horse's neck.

"For now, where's your mother?" she grabbed his hand as they began walking back to the palace.

He sighed, "she's busy writing some stuff."

"Well let's go see if we can convince her to take a break," she suggested and he grinned widely, pulling her along.

* * *

Eve sat at the table, sobbing quietly to herself. Gabrielle and Layla came into the dining room without her noticing. Gabrielle frowned as she heard Eve crying. Layla ran up to her mother and tugged on her dress.

"Mommy!" she smiled and Eve wiped her eyes and stared down at her daughter. Layla frowned, "are you crying?"

"No, I'm not," Eve smiled and leaned forward seeing her daughter carrying a large parchment in her hands. "What's that you have there?"

Layla beamed, "Gabby taught me how to write some letters, want to see?!"

Eve nodded and picked up Layla to set her on her lap. She took the parchment and saw her daughter's handwriting was very good, even better than hers when she was her age. "Wow, this is very good, Layla!"

Gabrielle rested her elbow on the chair, overseeing the parchment behind Eve. "She's a very fast learner," she said and Eve nodded her head. Gabrielle frowned, seeing that Eve was obviously upset over something. "Hey, Layla, why don't you show your mother how you write your name?"

Layla jumped off her mother's lap and went to sit in the chair opposite her. "Okay!" she smiled and dipped the quill into the ink, writing super slowly, making sure every stroke was perfect.

Eve smiled watching her and then Gabrielle sat beside her, grabbing her arm. "Are you alright?" she whispered.

Eve shook her head, lowering her head as she began sobbing again. Gabrielle's eyes widened and she scooted closer to her. "Samuel...he –he's being so unlike himself."

Gabrielle sighed, "maybe he's stressed out?" she offered, trying to make the situation lighter, though Eve buried her face in her hands again. "Don't cry! I hate when you do that," she smiled, brushing a few tendrils behind Eve's ear. "You'll make the baby upset," she smirked, rubbing her arm. Eve sighed, wiping her eyes, slowly calming down.

"I don't know why he's acting like this," Eve said, shaking her head. "He doesn't pay attention to his children, all he cares about is this stupid war!" she folded her arms, frowning, fuming at her husband's attitude.

Gabrielle rubbed her forehead, understanding how Eve was feeling right now. "I think you should talk to him," her eyes traveled to the plethora of documents on the table. "And I think you should stop working on this for awhile. You're stressing yourself out."

Eve smiled, "thank you Gabrielle," she stood up, exhaling heavily. "I'm going to talk to him."

Layla jumped up, "mommy look, I finished!" she smiled, bringing the parchment to her.

Eve bent down and grazed her hand over her daughter's cheek. "It looks very nice!" Layla blushed, feeling quite accomplished of herself. "I have to go talk to your father, so could you stay here with Gabrielle?"

"Okay..." Layla said and walked over to Gabrielle, sitting in her mother's chair, writing some more.

* * *

Xena walked in with Luca holding onto her hand. She saw Solan and Samuel arguing in the middle of the hallway and frowned. Luca looked up to her, "why are they fighting?"

Xena sighed, "go find your mother, okay?" she said and he ran off down the hall. She walked forward to the two men, observing their childish behavior.

"Samuel, you should not have backed down. We could have won! Allat has many soldiers at the border!" Solan yelled back.

Samuel groaned, "then maybe you should talk to your sister! It was her idea to pull back, not mine!"

Solan's eyes widened, "since when do you listen to her?! You're the king of Persia!" he folded his arms, "I say we should continue to move on Nimrood's kingdom in Ujjain and wipe him out while his army is down."

"You know what Solan? If anyone should kill the Scythian king, it should be me, not you and Allat. Assyrians always lose wars."

Solan laughed mockingly, "Persia never won a war while your father was on the throne." He smirked.

Xena stepped forward in between them, "what is going on?!"

Solan sighed heavily, "mother, Samuel decided to pull back his forces against Scythia. Tell him that his decision is stupid and he should go forward with the plan!"

Samuel folded his arms, "it wasn't  _me_ , it was Eve!" he spat back and Xena put her hands up.

"Alright, that's enough," she said and both men stopped bickering, glaring at one another. "If Eve thinks it's a good decision to pull back the army then it must be for a good reason," she stared at the Persian and Samuel groaned softly. "And you aren't the Assyrian king, Solan. If Persia pulls back from attacking Nimrood, then you and Allat must follow what goes," she stared at her son and he averted his eyes elsewhere, not wanting to look at her.

"If I was in charge, I wouldn't let my wife be my vizier," Solan muttered and Samuel frowned at him.

Eve walked in and saw her mother in between her brother and Samuel. She frowned and watched the two glaring at one another.

"She didn't feel important enough in Persia so I gave her something to do!" Samuel spat back and Xena rolled her eyes.

Eve's eyes widened and she stepped forward, "you don't want me to be your advisor?" she asked and both men turned around, shocked to see her standing there, listening to everything they just said.

Samuel's eyes softened as soon as he saw his wife. "Eve, that's not what I meant..." he stepped forward and she took a generous step back. Solan sighed and looked over at his mother who was glaring at him. He nervously smiled at her, anxious to get away.

"You felt bad for me so you gave me a position that you didn't want me to have?" Eve said with a big frown on her face.

The Persian shook his head, "no I think you are a great vizier, Eve. That's why I appointed you!" he smiled and saw that she was not impressed at all. Her eyes filled with imminent tears and walked off to go to her room. "Eve!" he called out and she ignored him. He sighed, burying his face in his hands.

Solan smirked, "way to go, Samuel. Now you've upset my sister," he said and Xena hit his arm. He winced and took a step away from her.

"Solan, this isn't really any of your business," Xena said and he lowered his eyes, then walked off.

Samuel placed his hands on his hips trying to find the best way to fix this situation. "I should go talk to her," he sighed and began walking off until Xena grabbed his arm.

"No, you won't," she frowned, "I will go talk to her. Why don't you go spend time with your children that you have been ignoring?" she suggested and his eyes widened. She walked off to go to Eve's room and he now felt embarrassed and stupid for letting such a silly thing become such a huge problem.

* * *

Xena came into Eve's room and closed the door quietly. She stepped further inside and saw Eve sobbing on her bed. She came to sit beside her and Eve cried loudly, her face buried in her hands. Xena sighed, wrapping an arm around her daughter's slim frame. "Evie..." she kissed her head and Eve kept sobbing. "You know Samuel cares about you."

Eve lifted her face out of her hands and her breathing was labored. "Well...he doesn't show it very well!" she wiped her cheeks and Xena smiled, bringing her closer.

"War is stressful," Xena said and Eve remained quiet, fidgeting with her dress quietly. "The first war I had with Octavius was so stressful. It felt like it lasted forever!" she tried to relate to her and Eve lowered her eyes. "I was pregnant with you and I put Gabrielle in charge. Even when I won, it still felt like I had lost because I had so much work to do when we returned to Athens."

Eve sighed heavily then stared up at her mother, "how did you do it?"

Xena smiled, "well, I had help. Gabrielle helped me and Solan did too," she brushed Eve's hair away from her face. "Samuel is your partner and he should help you. You should work together, not against each other."

"But he's being so insensitive!" Eve frowned, already feeling angry again. "He doesn't know how to be a father to the children. He's been away from them too long."

Xena nodded, "I understand and he just needs some help," she pinched Eve's arm and her daughter smirked softly. "You have a baby coming and you two should be spending a lot of time together."

Her daughter shook her head thinking that would be a horrible idea, sticking her in the same room with Samuel. "How are we supposed to spend time together when all we do is fight or talk about this war? Which by the way, isn't happening right now." She groaned.

"Eve, don't stress yourself out. I think everything will work out once you and Samuel take the children back to Persia."

Eve stood up and began pacing around, "I am not going back to Persia!" she folded her arms and Xena rolled her eyes.

"Yes you are. You cannot stay here forever. You belong in Susa with Samuel and your children," she said as she watched her daughter pace mindlessly.

"I want to stay here with you mother. I don't want to go to Persia with him! He's just going to argue with me!" Eve folded her arms and Xena grabbed her arm, pulling her over. She placed her hands on her daughter's hips and stared up at her.

"Eve, I can't save you from everything and you two need to work this out! I will always be here to help you and Gabrielle will too, but you two need to stop arguing." She sighed and Eve crinkled her nose, not really happy to hear that her mother was right and she hated it when she was right.

Eve sat back down beside her and exhaled deeply, "you and Gabrielle never argue."

Xena laughed, "yes we do!" she said and Eve's eyes widened in shock. "We used to argue all the time! Especially during wartime, but we always talked to each other and solved the problem." She said and Eve sighed, laying down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"So what you're saying is...I should talk to him?" Eve sighed and Xena smiled and pat her daughter's arm.

"Yes, you should," Xena lifted her daughter off the bed. "And I think you should eat something," she grabbed her arm pulling her away from the bed.

Eve rolled her eyes, "mother please, I'm not in the mood to eat right now."

"You're too thin Evie," Xena urged her and linked arms with her. Eve sighed heavily as she was being dragged out of her room unwillingly.

* * *

Gabrielle took it upon herself to teach Luca how to write his name since Layla enjoyed it so much. All three of them sat in the dining room at the table. Luca slowly wrote his name and concentrated so hard. He grinned, "how did I do Gabby?" he asked. She looked at the writing and it wasn't as good as Layla's but it was fair enough.

"Very good Luca, just keep practicing," she said and he nodded.

Layla stood up on the chair and grinned, "mommy!" she saw Xena and Eve walking together into the room and she jumped off the chair running to both women. She hugged her mother's legs and Xena smirked.

Gabrielle stood up and walked over to Xena, "did you talk to her?" she whispered.

Xena nodded, "yes I did. She is upset about Samuel," she whispered and Gabrielle understood that completely. She went around and Eve was sitting with Layla on her lap. "Eve, I can have the chef make you your favorite food," she said sweetly and Eve sighed.

"Alright mother, fine," she grinned and Layla was playing with Eve's long hair, completely distracted.

Gabrielle smirked, "are you trying to make her fat?" she had a smug smile on her face and Xena frowned.

"No..." she folded her arms, "she's too thin, look at her."

Gabrielle kept staring at Xena and couldn't help but keep that grin on her face. "Uh huh," she teased. "So, does that mean you are going to give her cake too? Her  _favorite_  cake...?" she chuckled and Xena groaned inwardly.

"Gabrielle would you just let me mother her for one minute, please?" she begged and Gabrielle saw she was quite serious.

"She's not going anywhere!" Gabrielle smiled and Xena looked at her then her smile disappeared. "She's going back to Persia soon isn't she?" she whispered and Xena nodded. Gabrielle looked over to Eve sitting with her children, speaking to them quietly. "Oh my gods! I don't want her to leave!" she ran up to Eve and hugged her from behind.

Eve jumped and Layla giggled, "Gabrielle..." she smiled.

Gabrielle wouldn't let go of her and Eve sighed as Layla kept laughing. "I love you so much!" Gabrielle said. Eve nodded, patting her hand, hoping she'd get off of her.

"I love you too Gabrielle. Now could you please...get off of me?" she asked nicely. "I can't breathe Gabrielle!"

The blonde let go and smiled sheepishly, "sorry Eve." She knelt down and Eve lifted an eyebrow at her very suspiciously. "Do you want cake?" she smirked.

Luca gasped, "cake?!" he said and Eve groaned.

"No cake for you!" she said and he slumped back into his chair, folding his arms. "And no thanks Gabrielle, I don't want cake. I'm actually not very hungry but mother insists I should eat something," she sighed.

"Xena's right," Gabrielle placed her hands on her hips, "you don't eat anything!"

Eve gasped, "but I do!" she looked to her mother, "mother tell her!"

Xena smirked and walked off and Gabrielle followed behind her. Eve's mouth gaped and Layla kept staring up at her. "Mommy, are you still sad?"

She sighed and smiled down at the brunette child, "no, not anymore."

Layla yawned, "good. I don't want you to be sad," she snuggled against Eve's chest and felt really tired after the long day she had. Eve smiled and Luca was still trying to write on the parchment.

* * *

Awhile later Xena came back with Gabrielle after Eve finished eating, per her mother's request ,and saw Layla sleeping on Eve's lap and Luca fell asleep in the chair next to her. Gabrielle nudged Xena and saw Eve was asleep in the chair as well.

"She is exhausted," Gabrielle whispered. "You grab Layla and I'll get Luca," she said and Xena agreed.

Slowly, Xena lifted Layla out of Eve's lap and the girl stirred in her sleep, then rested her head on Xena's shoulder, still sleeping. Gabrielle grabbed Luca and he didn't even wake up as she held him in her arms. "What about Eve?" Gabrielle asked and Xena sighed.

Samuel walked in and saw Eve sleeping in her chair. "I can take her," he said and both women turned to look at him. He smirked nervously at them and Xena's eyes were glaring at him and now he felt even more nervous. Gabrielle grabbed Xena's arm pulling her away reluctantly. He waited for Xena and Gabrielle to leave so he wouldn't have to keep staring at Xena and her piercing eyes.

He touched Eve's arm gently and she didn't wake up. He sighed and lifted her up in his arms then carried her to the bedroom so she could sleep more peacefully hopefully. He decided he was going to stay in the bed with her until she woke up. He felt really bad about how he had been treating her the last couple of weeks since he arrived from Persia. He didn't want to upset her and certainly didn't want to upset Xena either, which he already did, so that was not good on his part.

He laid her down in the bed and brushed her hair away from her cheeks. He sighed and laid down beside her, staring until she would wake up.

* * *

Once Xena and Gabrielle put the children in their beds, they decided to go in their room for once. Xena laid down on the bed, gawking at the ceiling, exhaling heavily. "I'm so done for today."

Gabrielle chuckled, "are you actually admitting that you are tired?" she asked.

"I forgot how hard it was to take care of children Gabrielle," she smiled and then Gabrielle took off her shoes, ready to lay down as well. "I hope Eve talks to Samuel."

"She seemed really upset," Gabrielle laid down beside her, both staring at the marble ceiling. "Is she really going to go back to Persia?" she pouted, "I'm going to miss those two little ones!"

Xena smiled and grabbed Gabrielle's hand, "she has to go back some day, Gabrielle but I will miss them too," she sighed.

Gabrielle rolled over onto her stomach and leaned her chin on her hands. "It's going to be so quiet here!" she sighed heavily and stared at Xena. "Are we going to go see Eve before she has the baby?" she hoped, her eyes lighting up.

"Of course we will go see her," Xena smiled and saw Gabrielle was already excited even though Eve hadn't even left yet. "So Gabrielle...we will have the palace to ourselves for the first time in...forever," her eyes widened thinking of all the things she could do. "Let's go to Athens and see how the palace is coming along."

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, staring down at the empress. "You're already planning aren't you?" she grinned and Xena sat up, grabbing her hands.

"Gabrielle...this will be the first time we will be alone, together, without Eve, without Solan, the children, everybody!" Xena's eyes grew as she started to think of all the free time they would have together. Then realization hit and then realized that everyone would be gone and she'd be alone with Gabrielle. "We're going to be alone..." she said quietly.

Gabrielle scooted closer to her, "I thought you wanted to be alone?" she said and saw Xena's face had not changed since her realization. "We'll see them again when Eve has her baby," she rubbed her arm and Xena relaxed.

"So that's about five months from now, so that should give us plenty of time to do absolutely nothing," Xena grinned and Gabrielle started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You are not used to doing 'nothing' obviously. I'm sure the Athenian palace will be finished by then! We could move everything there before we go to Persia," she suggested and Xena liked that very much.

* * *

Eve woke up and her eyes wandered around to see that she was in her bed in her room. She sat up slowly and rubbed her side, then looked over and saw Samuel sitting in the bed beside her. She frowned at him, "what are you doing?"

He grabbed her hand as she was about to get up and leave, "Eve, I'm really sorry," she sighed and wouldn't look at him. "I love you a lot you know that," he pulled her closer to him and she stared at his soft eyes.

"Samuel, you haven't been very nice to me ever since you got here and you barely pay attention to Luca and Layla," she said and he sighed heavily, gripping her hand tightly.

"I know, I'm sorry, I don't want to be mean to you. If my mother were here she'd probably slap me for my horrible behavior," he chuckled and Eve raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'll do it for her," she teased and he almost thought she was serious and began moving away from her. She smiled grabbing his arm, pulling him close, "Samuel stop, I'm joking."

Samuel kissed her hand gently, "I promise I will pay attention to the children more and you too."

She nodded her head, a bit content with that but not yet satisfied. "And stop arguing with my brother," she added and he groaned. She squeezed his hand, "Samuel!"

"Alright fine I'll stop fighting with Solan," he sighed heavily and finally saw her smile. "I'm sorry about earlier with Luca. I'm a bad father," he rubbed his face.

Eve ran her fingers through his hair, "no you are not, Samuel. You loved them even before they were born," she smiled and he nodded, agreeing with her. "You were so excited to see them, remember? You wanted to be with me the entire time and my mother wouldn't let you," she grinned widely thinking of that and he smiled along with her.

"I promise I will be there for you and this baby too," he said and she smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "I just wish I would have known earlier," he sighed.

"You already left to Scythia before I could tell you, but you know now," she kissed his cheek and he sighed. He placed his hand over her belly and a big smile graced his lips. She put her hand over his and looked up at his eyes and he was obviously fixated.

A knock came to the door and both of them stopped. "Can we come in?" Luca said politely.

Eve chuckled and sat up in the bed, "yes, you may," she answered and Luca opened the door. Both of the children came running in and jumped on the bed. Luca cuddled close to his mother and Layla sat comfortably on Samuel's lap. "Did you two have a nice nap?" she asked and both nodded.

"Did you?" Layla asked and Eve nodded her head. Samuel ran his fingers through Layla's long hair that reminded him of Eve's and couldn't stop smiling. "Are we going back to Persia?" she looked up at her father.

Samuel looked to Eve and she cleared her throat, "yes we are. I think we leave should soon."

Luca cheered, "yay!" he grinned and cuddled close to his mother.

"It's a long journey back to Persia from Rome," Samuel added.

"That's okay," Luca smiled and then looked down at his mother's stomach and placed his hand over it, "is that the baby?" he grinned wider. Eve covered her mouth trying not to laugh at his face. "Your tummy is so small!"

Samuel chuckled, "it will get bigger soon," he said and Luca's eyes widened. "Are you two excited about the baby?" he asked.

Layla nodded her head, "yeah! I can't wait to see it," she smiled and Samuel poked her nose then she giggled softly. "I hope it's a girl."

Luca frowned, "it's a boy, for the last time, Layla!" Eve sighed, rolling her eyes and stared at Samuel, seeing him smiling, enjoying the two bickering for once.

"They're going to do this until the baby arrives you know that right?" Eve said and Samuel nodded, okay with that.

* * *

A week later Samuel and Eve got everything ready to leave. Luca and Layla were excited even though Samuel told them it would be awhile before they reached Persia and they'd even have to take a ship to get across the sea. The two didn't seem to mind and were so thrilled to be leaving with both of their parents after such a long time.

The children ran outside the palace and got into the caravan, patiently waiting, talking to one another. They would meet their other grandmother for the first time, which would be interesting.

Xena and Gabrielle stood at the entrance and Eve waited while the Persian men loaded everything from the twin's room, which had been taking a couple of hours, but they were nearly done. Eve felt some knots in her stomach as she watched the men load everything up which meant it was closer to the time to leave Rome.

Xena smiled seeing the nervousness in her daughter's eyes. She grabbed her hands in hers, "Eve, don't worry, everything is going to be fine."

Eve exhaled heavily, staring in her mother's warm eyes. "I know, but this will be the first time I will have the children in Persia again since they were babies. I hope they will like it there."

"They'll love it as long as they're with you!" Gabrielle said trying to make her feel better.

"I will write both of you if something happens," Eve began, "and I want to know the progress of the Athenian palace too," she said and Xena kept bobbing her head, listening to her daughter. "And you will both be there when I have the baby right? You're going to be there, aren't you?" her eyes widened as her heart began to race.

Xena laughed, "Eve! Of course we will be there, please stop worrying so much," she touched her cheek and Eve smiled sheepishly. "We'll even stay for an entire month before, okay?" Eve nodded, feeling a bit better already.

Eve smiled, "thank you for everything you have done for me," she hugged her mother then hugged Gabrielle next. "I'm going to miss you both," she frowned and started sobbing.

Gabrielle's eyes widened, "don't cry!" she wrapped her arms around Eve and Xena sighed. "We're not that far away, you know?"

Eve cried more, "yes you are!" she buried her face in her hands and Xena rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"Eve stop crying, we will see each other again in a few months alright?" she kissed her forehead and Eve wiped her cheeks, nodding.

Samuel ran up the stairs from outside and saw Eve crying softly. He frowned and grabbed her hand, "are you crying?" he wiped her tears and she shook her head. "We should leave soon, the children keep asking when we are going," he smiled.

She exhaled heavily, "alright..." she hooked arms with Samuel and walked down the steps together. She turned around and saw her mother and Gabrielle waving at her. She smiled at them both before stepping into the caravan with Luca and Layla both waiting.

Gabrielle kept smiling and she folded her arms, "she cries a lot," she whispered to Xena.

Xena said through a tight smile, "I know..." she sighed, "she'll be fine when she reaches Susa." She wrapped her arm around Gabrielle, "so we are alone...finally."

Gabrielle smirked, "yes we are. What do you want to do first?"

"Go to Athens!" Xena smiled, pulling Gabrielle along back into the palace. "And maybe we can go to Corinth too? And Megara..." she tapped her cheek thinking of all the possibilities.

"Wow you have some ambition!" Gabrielle huffed as she was being dragged by Xena down the hallway.


	52. Chapter 52

**AN: well this is the last chapter of this sequel and it was a pleasure writing all of it. Hoped everyone enjoyed these two stories and I will continue to write my other stories now ;) good luck and enjoy!**

Chapter 52

Xena and Gabrielle spent most of their time in Athens, observing the work being done to the palace. Solan opted to travel to Athens to stay with them since he was bored in Assyria. He had nothing to do there now that the war was dormant. He promised he would stop arguing with Samuel about the war even though he really wanted to win, he knew deep down that Persia and Assyria would lose to the Scythians, not because the army was not bad at combat but because they were running out of tactics against Nimrood and his men.

Solan had obviously underestimated the Scythian king and his army. They were quite ruthless when it came to attacking and they stopped at nothing to obliterate the Persians and Assyrians. It was going to be such a pain to share the borders with Nimrood because he wanted nothing more than to destroy the two kingdoms and spread his religion and politics across the eastern part of the world.

Now with the east wing finished as well as the north and south wings, everything was being brought in from Rome to fill the north and south wings. Xena wanted the east and west wings to belong to the public like she promised. What she really wanted was to move back to Athens permanently. The west wing was still in construction but at least it was three fourths completed, which Xena never thought they would be able to finish the palace so soon and quickly as they did in the last five months.

Solan plopped down on the sofa in the large atrium, much larger than the one in the previous Athenian palace. He stared up at the sky and Xena folded her arms, staring at her son relaxing. "Exhausted?" she teased.

He lifted his head and smiled at her. "Yeah, it's a big job sitting around all day watching the men move everything in here," he chuckled and she rolled her eyes. He sat up, "hey, have you heard anything from Eve?" he hoped.

She nodded, "yes and we should be leaving this week to go see her. I wanted to leave last month but everything got so busy!"

Solan stood up and hooked arms with his mother, walking out of the atrium. "She'll have her baby soon! Maybe it will be another girl," he wiggled his eyebrows.

Xena smiled, "maybe, we'll have to see. I hope Luca and Layla have adjusted alright."

Solan scoffed, waving his hand, "Please mother, they're probably driving Hatima crazy! They're wild children!"

"Layla isn't like Luca. She's very mature," Xena pointed out and he had to agree with her. "She must have gotten that from Samuel but she certainly didn't get that from Eve," she smiled shaking her head thinking of Eve as a child and how wild she could be.

Solan rolled his eyes, "mother, you have no idea! Since I was stuck babysitting her for many years, she always got into some kind of trouble while you were away!"

The empress frowned, not knowing any of the things that Eve had done while she was away. "Like what?" she asked and he nervously laughed. "What did she do?" she was really curious now.

"Well..when she was five, you and Gabrielle were in Thrace at the time and Eve decided she wanted to go on an adventure..." he recalled that time and it was so nerve-racking.

* * *

_Twenty Three Years Ago_

Solan sighed, folding his arms at his little kid sister. He had been searching for her for three hours and he was unable to find her. He saw Racha walking down the hallway and grabbed her arm. "Have you seen Eve?"

The maid shook her head, "no I haven't seen the little princess, your highness," she smiled and walked down the hall leaving Solan dazed and confused.

"Great!" he groaned. "Mother is going to kill me..." he muttered to himself and walked to Eve's room and checked again, for the fourth time. "Eve, this isn't funny anymore!" he yelled and still no sign of her except for that pet spider, Zoe, in her cage by Eve's bed. He bent down towards the furry spider, "have you seen Eve?" he grinned.

Zoe stared at Solan and climbed on the cage, clutching onto the side, blinking her eyes up at Solan. He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm talking to a spider..." he grumbled and left his sister's room to search elsewhere.

He came outside to the gardens and saw the bright sunlight beaming down on him. "Gods, Eve...I really hate when you do this!"

* * *

Eve pulled on the reins of her hose, Elijah, and came to the ocean only a few miles away from the palace. "Don't tell Solan about this Elijah," she whispered to the horse and she fed him some carrots. She giggled softly and rubbed the horse's nose. "Good boy," she took off her shoes and dipped her feet in the warm water. Slowly she kept walking into the sea getting her white dress soaked.

Elijah walked into the water with her and she groaned, pushing him away. "No, Elijah, stay on the sand!" she grunted and the horse pushed her with his nose and she fell into the water, squealing. "Elijah!" she rubbed her eyes from the salty sea water and now her hair was soaked. "You bad boy!" she frowned, splashing the water with her hands.

Solan came running outside and saw Eve swimming in the ocean. His eyes widened and he ran down the rocky hill. "Eve!" he called out and she turned to him, gasping, she swam out further into the sea. "Eve, no!" he grunted and hurt his ankle trying to run down the rocks, almost slipping in his path.

Eve swam out to the middle of the ocean and saw her older brother running towards her. She looked around and saw she was really far from the shore and Elijah laid down in the sand, watching her. She sighed and felt something grab her ankle. She yelped and curled her knees close to her, her heart beating faster. She glanced around and felt a fin graze her skin. She began breathing heavily, afraid of what might be below her.

Solan ran into the water, "Eve, don't move, I'm coming to get you!" he yelled out to her and dove into the water, swimming towards her.

Eve breathed heavily and saw a large fin rising above the water, swimming towards her. Her eyes widened and she began splashing trying to get away then saw another fin above the water, swimming behind her. "Solan!" she yelled as she felt trapped. "There's sharks!"

Solan frowned and dove under the water, swimming he saw two medium sized sharks circling Eve and kept rubbing against her feet. Eve kicked her legs in the water and he shook his head, swimming further, he went up the surface to breathe. "Eve, don't move!" he said and she looked at him with fear in her eyes.

He dove under the water and kicked one of the sharks in the face with his boot and the second shark came swimming towards him. His eyes widened and he felt his lungs tighten as he needed air. Eve kept swimming in place and the shark bit his ankle, refusing to let go. He screamed under water and punched the shark in his nose. The shark let go of his ankle and swam deeper into the ocean to the bottom of the floor.

He swam to the surface, gasping for air. He grabbed Eve, bringing her close to him. "What were you thinking?!" he yelled and she lowered her eyes feeling embarrassed of herself.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "are you going to tell mother?" she asked quietly.

"It'll be our secret," he grinned and kissed her cheek. She smiled thanking her brother and kissed his cheek as he swam back with Eve holding onto him.

As they reached the shore Solan carried Eve and set her on the sand. He groaned and lifted his pants up to see a large gash on his ankle from the shark. Eve wringed out her dress from the water and saw the wound on her brother's ankle. "Solan!" she ran and knelt by him, touching his wound.

He hissed, "don't touch it!" he slapped her hand away and she frowned, feeling bad that her actions got her brother hurt. He cupped her cheeks in his hands, "Eve don't you ever do that again! You could have gotten hurt!"

Eve sighed heavily, "okay I promise I won't do it again. I'm really sorry, Solan," she muttered and he sighed, hugging her close to him.

* * *

Solan sighed as he told his mother the story that she never knew about. He felt his mother tense up at the shark part. "So, I decided not to tell you and promised Eve that I wouldn't."

Xena glared at him and hit his shoulder and he cringed. "You let her go into the ocean?!" she groaned.

He chuckled nervously, rubbing his arm, "it was a long time ago, mother! And she wasn't hurt either!" he tried to defend his little sister, though he saw his mother was upset, though she couldn't do anything about it now.

Gabrielle carried a box of scrolls and plopped the box onto the table. She swiped her brow and saw Xena walking with Solan. "This is the last of the scrolls from the library!" she smiled.

Xena came up to her and looked inside the box. "Wow, there's a lot of them. I never realized."

Gabrielle walked to Xena and grasped her shoulders firmly, "are we going to see Eve now?! I'm dying to see her and the children!" her eyes lit up and Xena smiled, nodding. "When do we leave?"

Solan folded his arms, "we can leave tomorrow morning?" he suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea," Xena smiled and Gabrielle hugged her tightly. "Gabrielle!" she laughed and now received one of those lung constricting hugs and realized that it wasn't super pleasant.

"I've been waiting for this day for five months, Xena! Don't spoil this moment for me," the blonde folded her arms, staring up at Xena.

* * *

_Susa, Persia_

Luca and Layla were sword fighting outside with wooden swords and Hatima sat outside watching them to make sure nothing happened. Luca smiled and growled at his sister, knocking her down on the hard sandy ground. "You are defeated, little sister!"

Layla frowned, "I'm not your little sister! We're born the same day, stupid!" she kicked her brother and he stumbled backwards into a large statue of a lion.

Luca groaned and rubbed his back. "I was born first! So that makes you my little sister!" he smiled and charged after her, climbing on top of her. Both of them dropped their swords and began rolling all over the ground together, fighting one another.

Samuel sighed and walked outside seeing his mother watch the two fighting on the ground. "Are they okay?" he felt worried.

Hatima smiled, "they're fine. They've been playing for two hours."

He folded his arms and watched Layla roll on top of her brother, fighting each other. "I don't want them to get hurt..."

His mother stood up and touched her son's cheek, "Samuel, they're children. You and your brothers would wrestle like this all the time." He sighed, nodding his head that his mother had a point. "Did you check on Eve?" she asked.

"Yes I did," he felt even more frustrated bringing that subject up. Eve was in her room taking a nap for the last hour and he spoke to her before she went to sleep. "The baby was supposed to be here two weeks ago!" he groaned, sitting down in his mother's chair, sulking to himself.

Hatima smiled and sat beside him in the empty chair, "don't worry about it, Samuel. The baby will come when it wants to."

He sighed heavily, folding his arms. "Is there something wrong? Is this normal?" he asked and she felt his anxiousness rising. She rubbed his arm and he felt a headache coming on as he kept thinking about Eve.

"If there was something wrong, I assure you, you would know," she kissed his cheek and he nodded, thinking to himself.

Luca and Layla ran up both of them, breathing heavily. Samuel smiled at them and Layla's hair was wild and they were both covered in sand. "Baba, did you see? I totally beat Layla!" Luca grinned.

Layla frowned, "I'll get you later," she brushed the sand off her sleeves and Samuel picked her up in his arms. Luca grabbed Hatima's hand and all of them walked back into the palace together. "Is the baby here yet?" she asked her father.

Samuel shook his head, "sorry Layla, no baby yet."

She sighed heavily, toying with her frizzy hair, "the baby is taking forever!" she exhaled dramatically and he smiled, kissing her forehead.

Hatima knelt down towards Luca, "I think you two need a bath," she ruffled his dark wavy hair and sand fell from his hair. She cringed and shook her hand from the sand left on her palm. "Definitely need a bath." She pat his back and he ran down the hallway to his bedroom. Samuel put Layla down and she ran after him.

"They are behaving much better than when they first got here," he mused and his mother wrapped her arm around him.

"Yes they're very good children!" she smiled. "I'm going to give them a bath before they get into any other messes again..." she sighed and hurried down the hallway to the twin's bedroom, hoping they didn't create a mess in the bathroom again.

* * *

As the sun set it began storming outside and a large clap of thunder erupted in the skies. Eve gasped, waking up in the bed then she turned and saw Samuel sitting in a chair close by the window, smoking out of his water pipe. "Samuel..." she called out softly and he blew out some smoke, turning towards her and a big smile crossed his face.

He walked over to her and leaned on the edge of the bed and kissed her gently, "you've been asleep for hours," he touched her cheek and she grinned, nestling her head back onto the pillows, laying on her side.

"How are the children?" she traced her finger along his bare arm and he laid beside her, sitting up against the pillows.

"They're with my mother. She's telling them stories. I checked on them an hour ago," he sighed and she scooted over closer to him and toyed with the laces on his sleeveless blouse. Her hand reached up under his tunic and his eyes widened, staring down at her. She had a sneaky smile on her face. "What are you doing..." he smirked.

She smiled and cupped his cheek, kissing his lips as her fingers started unlacing his blouse. She scooted closer and wrapped her leg around his. His eyes opened and he pulled her away for a moment. "Are you okay?" he asked skeptically.

Eve smiled and opened his blouse, her fingertips tracing along his bare chest. "Yes..." she whispered and kissed his lips again. He raised an eyebrow and touched her hair. She crawled on top of him and kissed his chest. His eyes widened and he cupped her cheeks.

"Eve, what about the baby?" he asked and she smiled, continuing to kiss his collar bone.

" _What_   _about_  the baby?" she asked, leaning down on his body and smiled up at him. He had a concerned look on his face and rested his hands on her hips.

He stammered, "well...I mean, I don't want to hurt you or anything," he said and she smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

"Samuel," she grabbed his hands off her hips and pinned his arms behind his head. "I'm fine, everything is fine," she grinned and kissed his lips again. He smiled at her feeling her breath against his cheeks.

A knock came to the door and Eve groaned, Samuel sighed. "What is it?" he called out.

The guard on the other side answered, "the Empress of Greece is here, your majesty!"

Samuel sighed heavily and was about to get up until Eve pushed him back down on the bed, still sitting on top of him. She chuckled under her breath and he blinked at her with wide eyes. "Tell her to wait!" Eve said and heard the footsteps of the guard disappear from the door. "Now...I have you to  _myself_ ," she grinned deviously.

He didn't know what was going on with her but he wasn't about to push her away now. "I don't know what has gotten into you..." he said, surprised at the way she was acting and she continued kissing his neck softly.

* * *

Xena took off her soaked cloak and ran her fingers through her hair. Gabrielle took off her cloak as well and sighed, staring up at the empress. "It's really raining hard outside!" Gabrielle said with a smile.

Solan handed his coat to a maid and shook out his damp hair. "Yeah really," he groaned, feeling cold and wet. He always hated autumn in Persia, it rained far too much. "Where is Eve?" he asked, furrowing his brows, anxious to see his sister.

The guard ran into the hallway and bowed to all three of them. "Your highness," he said nervously and Xena lifted an eyebrow, "the princess is busy at the moment," he said kind of embarrassed. He was not expecting to hear her voice in the king's bedroom at all.

"She's... _busy_?" Xena asked, folding her arms and Solan frowned, not liking the sound of that and it probably meant that his sister was with Samuel.

Hatima smiled, walking into the entrance hallway. "Xena!" she said and the empress turned, smiling at the queen. "So nice of you to come! Eve is has been asking about you," she kissed Xena's cheek and the empress smiled anxiously, not quite used to the greetings the Persians did to their guests, even after all these years. The queen dismissed the guard and Solan's mouth gaped, he really wanted to know about his sister. "She's probably sleeping still," she offered and Xena folded her arms, not quite certain of that, though she really didn't want to know.

Xena sighed, "how is she?" she asked Hatima.

The queen shrugged her shoulder, "she's doing well, but Samuel has been worried about her." Xena and Gabrielle shared a concerned look with each other. Hatima smiled softly putting her hands up, "the baby was  _supposed_  to come two weeks ago and he's just worried about her that's all."

Gabrielle let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her elbow on Xena's shoulder. "I thought it was something serious!" she smiled and Xena smirked down at her. "Now...where are the little ones? I want to see them!" she grinned, too excited to contain herself.

Hatima chuckled at Gabrielle's excited face, "they're in the sitting room, reading together," she walked off gesturing them to follow her. Gabrielle skipped ahead and linked arms with the queen as they walked together.

Solan sighed, walking beside his mother, "I really wanted to see Eve," he said sadly.

Xena wrapped her arm around her son, "yes I know. Maybe she will come out of her room later?" she suggested and he nodded.

* * *

Luca and Layla sat on the sofa together, reading a sentence one after another in tandem. They heard the doors open and saw Gabrielle, Xena and Solan walk in with Hatima. "Gabby!" Layla jumped off the sofa and ran to her, hugging her legs tightly.

Gabrielle smiled and lifted the girl in her arms, "you are getting heavy," she said and Layla wrapped her arms around her neck, snuggling against her shoulder.

Luca ran up to Xena and she knelt down, wrapping her arms around the boy. He pulled away and touched her cheek, "where have you been?" he frowned.

Xena's eyes widened, "well, I've been very busy in Athens, working on the palace, you remember?" he nodded his head. "Maybe I will take you to see it once it's finished, would you like that?" she smiled.

"Yeah!" he grinned and tugged Hatima's dress, "teta Hatun, where is mommy?" he asked her.

Hatima bent down, touching the boy's cheek, "she's still in her room. I'm sure she'll come out later, okay?" she said and he sighed heavily. He hadn't seen her since this morning and she'd been in her room all day. He was very disappointed not being able to see her all day, though he did have fun playing with his sister and reading with his grandmother.

Gabrielle set Layla down and the girl grabbed her hand, pulling her to the sofa next to the large fireplace. "Gabby, come read with us!" she said and the blonde grinned, following her.

An hour after arriving Eve and Samuel entered the sitting room and Xena looked up with Luca sitting on her lap. Eve smiled seeing her mother and her brother as well as Gabrielle playing with the children. "Mother!" she walked forward and Xena set Luca down by Solan and embraced her warmly. "I was worried that you wouldn't come!"

Xena brushed Eve's hair behind her ears and kissed her forehead, "of course I was going to come!" she grinned and looked down at her daughter's belly and smirked, placing her hands on the baby. "So, two weeks late?" she lifted an eyebrow and Eve sighed.

Samuel folded his arms beside his wife and stared at Xena's subtle smirk on her face. "I wish it would hurry up and get here," he groaned, getting frustrated again. Eve squeezed his arm and smiled at him.

"Don't rush things Samuel," Xena said, "and don't worry I will be staying here awhile, just for  _you_ ," she smiled impishly and pat the king's cheek. He cringed and looked to Eve for help but all she could do was laugh at his nervous face. She then was being pulled off by Luca again to join them in a game of chess. Samuel decided to teach them how to play since he had a lot of free time.

Samuel leaned in towards Eve, "your mother scares me," he whispered and Eve playfully hit him in the chest.

Solan left Layla's and Gabrielle's side to go greet his sister. He walked up to her with a sneaky smile and Eve's eyes widened. " _Evie_..." he extended his arms and she smiled nervously at him. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly.

"Solan!" she croaked as she could feel her breath leaving her body. He picked her up and she hit his arm. "Put me down!" she demanded.

Samuel frowned, "okay put her down, Solan," he said nicely, "be careful," he said softly and Solan put his sister back down on the floor. The blonde prince smirked at the king and wrapped his arm around him and the king winced, afraid he was going to hit him or something.

"You're taking good care of my sister, right?" Solan said and Samuel nodded. He pat Samuel's back harshly and the king grunted. "Good! You know, I'm starting to like you," he said and Samuel smiled nervously, adjusting his robes. "I would like you even more if you stop impregnating my sister, though," he folded his arms and Eve buried her face in her hands, shaking her head feeling embarrassed.

Samuel chuckled nervously, his cheeks reddening, "well, your sister is very beautiful," he said and brought Eve close to him.

Solan frowned, "I'll be watching you," he winked and ran back over to Gabrielle and Layla to observe how their game was going.

Samuel leaned in closer to Eve, "your brother is going to kill me one day," he hissed.

Eve laughed, "don't be ridiculous, Samuel." She grabbed his hand and walked over to sit by her mother and Luca.

* * *

A couple of days later Gabrielle and Xena decided to teach Luca and Layla the art of swordsmanship outside in the large atrium. Gabrielle held a large staff and swung towards Xena. The empress smirked, blocking her easily. The blonde lifted her eyebrow playfully and Xena swung her legs underneath Gabrielle, knocking her off her feet. The blonde yelped and fell on her back.

The twins giggled, covering their mouths. Xena twirled the staff in her hand, "and that is how you distract your enemy," she said and Gabrielle stood up, brushing the sand off her arms.

"She doesn't play nice," Gabrielle chided and Xena chuckled.

"What's the matter Gabrielle? Who's out of practice  _now_?" she laughed and the children were enjoying the two arguing with one another.

Gabrielle laughed mockingly, "oh you're so funny," she swung the staff and wacked Xena's shins and then hit her in the spine. Xena groaned and jabbed the staff towards Gabrielle's midsection. Gabrielle's eyes widened and she kicked the staff before it came in contact with her. Xena's mouth gaped and Gabrielle took Xena's staff from her and twirled both of them in her hands. She then slammed the end of the staffs into the ground. "Lesson one, guys, subdue the enemy."

Xena frowned, folding her arms, feeling embarrassed of herself for letting her guard down once again. "Well played Gabrielle, but I will get you back later," she said with a subtle smirk.

Luca held his staff in his hands, "awesome! Teach me how to do that Gabby!" he grinned and Layla nodded her head, agreeing with her brother.

Gabrielle threw the staff back to Xena and winked at her. "Well you two need to learn the basics first," she leaned down and touched the back of Luca's neck. "This is a soft spot right here. If you hit your enemy in that exact spot, he will immediately become distracted." His eyes lit up in awe.

Xena smiled, "that is if you get close enough," she scoffed. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and then Xena wacked her rear end with the staff and Gabrielle yelped. The blonde's eyes widened and turned towards with her with a sneaky grin.

"You really want to lose again, don't you?" Gabrielle rubbed her backside feeling the stinging sensation.

Xena twirled her staff, "oh no Gabrielle, we are here to teach the children,  _remember_?" she teased.

* * *

Eve sat with Hatima and Samuel in a small room, drinking mint tea together. Samuel kept talking to his mother about the lack of security around the border while Eve listened quietly to them both go back and forth. "I think we should arm the border with our men at all times, just in case. I don't trust Nimrood," Samuel said.

Hatima nodded, "alright, but what about Assyria? Allat can surely provide some security too since you are neighbors," she added and he rubbed his chin, thinking that would be a good idea, but then he would have to talk to Solan again and he wasn't looking forward to that at all. Solan was extremely hard headed like Xena was and it was almost impossible to convince that man to do anything against his original plans.

"Okay fine, but I don't want Solan anywhere near Allat when I talk to him!" he said and Hatima smiled, sipping her tea casually. Eve frowned, feeling a stabbing pain in her pelvis and she winced slightly, though the two monarchs kept talking with each other. Her eyes widened as the pain increased and she dropped the glass of tea on the floor, shattering into a million pieces.

Samuel turned around and frowned, seeing Eve gripping onto the arms of the chair. He set the glass down and came to her side, "Eve?" he brushed her hair away from her face and Eve closed her eyes, gasping loudly. He smiled, standing up, "finally!" he yelled aloud and Eve glared up at him.

Hatima stood up, "take her to her room," she said and her son nodded, lifting his wife out of the chair slowly, wrapping his arm around her.

They both made it out of the room and Eve stopped, bending over, clutching onto Samuel's arm. He held onto her firmly, "can you make it to the bedroom? It's not that far..." he said and she groaned loudly. "Alright then," he picked her up in his arms, carrying her down the hallway.

He gently laid her down on the bed and she frowned, trying to take off her caftan. "Take this off of me!" she said and Samuel hurried, taking the caftan off of her and threw it aside on a chair. She breathed heavily, her entire body becoming increasingly hot and it was not helping that she wore a long sleeved dress either. She reached behind her and tried unlacing the back of it.

Samuel sat on the bed, "let me help you," he offered and quickly untied the back of her dress as fast as he could. Eve's eyes widened and she grabbed his arm, squeezing tightly, moaning softly. "Holy God!" he cringed as her grip tightened. He shimmied the dress off her and threw it aside as well. He adjusted the straps of her black slip on her shoulder and he felt a little bit helpless.

Hatima came in with a bowl of water and tapped her son's shoulder, telling him to move. He stepped back and she sat down beside Eve, smiling at her. Eve clutched the sheets, bringing her knees closer to her she groaned in agonizing pain. "I want my mother!" she yelled out. Hatima turned towards her son and he nodded.

"I can do that," he grinned and hurried out of the room to go find Xena and Gabrielle.

If he remembered correctly both Xena and Gabrielle were still outside training the children and he ran outside hurrying to find them both. Gabrielle was showing Layla how to swing the staff properly while Xena was busy teaching Luca hand to hand combat.

He took a moment to catch his breath and called out, "Xena!" he said and the empress lifted her head at the breathless king. "Eve..." he exhaled, "she needs you."

Xena and Gabrielle shared a smile together. She knelt down towards Luca, "lesson is over for today, Luca," she pat his cheek and he had a look of disappointment on his little face. Xena walked briskly into the palace and Gabrielle kissed Layla's head before running off to catch up to Xena.

Layla and Luca dropped their staffs and ran towards their father as he was catching his breath, leaning on the column. Luca tugged on his pants, "where are they going?" he asked.

Samuel smiled bending down to see their confused faces. "They're going to help your mother," he explained and they frowned up at him.

Then realization hit Layla, "the baby is coming?!" she gasped, cupping her cheeks in her hands. Luca gasped as well and both of them ran inside the palace. Samuel groaned, not really happy about having to chase these two after all the running he did to get across the palace.

He ran inside and saw the two running to their mother's room. He caught up to them before they were about to open the door. He grabbed Layla by her dress and by Luca's blouse, lifting them both in the air. "You two are not going in there," he said and the children folded their arms. He set them down and saw the big frowns on their faces.

"But we want to see her," Luca pouted and Samuel smiled, kneeling down to their eye level.

"I know you do, but you can see her later, okay?" he said and both children sighed heavily.

Solan waltzed down the hallway and heard an ear piercing scream. He halted and his eyes widened hearing the sound of his sister. He saw the children standing beside Samuel and he grinned. "Well, it's about time, right?" Solan said and the children stood looking depressed that they couldn't see their mother. Solan knelt down in front of the two and smiled, "hey, do you two want to play a game?"

They both shook their heads, "no, we want to see mommy," Luca said and Eve screamed again. Both of their eyes widened and Solan chuckled seeing their shocked faces. He grabbed their hands and began walking off with them.

"Trust me guys, you don't want to go in that room," he said. "Do you guys want to pay chess?" he asked and Luca sighed heavily, both of them not really excited to play a game.

Samuel smirked and followed them and came to stand in front of them. "It's going to be awhile until you are able to see your mother, so why don't you go play a game?" he said and both children sighed deeply, obeying him, though they weren't too excited about it.

"Can we play marbles?" Layla looked up to Solan.

He nodded, "sure, whatever you want."

Luca gasped, pulling on Solan's arm, "can we also play jenga?"

Solan chuckled, "okay we can play that too."

Samuel watched the three walk off and exhaled heavily and slumped down in a chair outside of the room, waiting patiently. He already knew that this mother and Xena were not going to let him in like last time. He tapped his knee, waiting and waiting some more, though he heard Xena yelling at someone and that was never good.

Gabrielle exited the room and shut the door swiftly behind her and Samuel looked at her. She smiled nervously at him, "everything is fine," she said and then heard Xena yelling again and Samuel lifted an eyebrow.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked and she nodded.

"I need some...towels," she lamely said and he cringed in disgust. He waved his hand and brought over Kosem to direct her to give her the things that she needed. He watched her walk with Kosem to get the towels and he sighed, sinking down in the chair, folding his arms.

* * *

A few hours later Xena was in the room with Hatima standing beside her and Gabrielle sitting on the bed. Eve cringed as she felt another wave of pain hit her again. Xena took off her cloak and her blouse, feeling incredibly hot. She was in a tight long sleeved shirt and sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. Eve grabbed her hand and Xena's eyes widened. Her daughter screamed and Gabrielle stuffed Eve's mouth with a cloth. Eve gripped her mother's hand tightly and Xena felt her bones begin to pop.

Gabrielle frowned sadly, "for Zeus' sake when can we give her the valerian root?!" she really didn't like to see Eve in pain and the three of them couldn't do anything about it.

Eve let go of her mother's hand and Xena gasped heavily, wiggling her fingers, her bones popping back in place. Xena rubbed her hand, "not yet," she sighed and Gabrielle took the cloth out of Eve's mouth. Xena smiled at her daughter and brushed her hair away from her face. "You're doing a great job, Evie," she winked.

Eve frowned, "I haven't  _done_  anything..." she said flatly. Hatima nervously stood behind Xena and kept picking at her nails. Xena turned around to see the queen's anxiousness.

"Hatima, would you stop?" Xena frowned and the queen quit picking at her fingernails. Eve cringed as she felt the pain return and Gabrielle stuffed her mouth with the cloth again.

"Xena, just give the root to her!" Gabrielle said and Xena sighed, standing up to crush the valerian root into the hot water. Once she was finished she sat back down on the bed and Gabrielle took the cloth out of Eve's mouth for the millionth time.

Xena held up the bowl towards Eve and her daughter shook her head, closing her lips. "I don't want to drink that!" she protested and Xena frowned.

"You will drink it!" Xena pinched Eve's cheeks and she kept refusing, pulling away from her mother. Eve slapped the bowl out of her mother's hands away and Xena gasped. "Eve!" she groaned and her daughter moaned out in pain.

Gabrielle slapped her forehead, feeling her blood pressure rising. "This is not the time to get angry, Xena," she reminded her and Xena glared at her.

Xena sighed, trying to calm her nerves, she reached beneath Eve's dress and Eve reared her head back on the pillows, clutching onto Gabrielle's hand. Xena pulled her hand away and wiped her arm off with a cloth. Hatima lingered behind her. "Something wrong?" the queen asked.

Xena shook her head, "forget the valerian root," she stood up and washed her hands thoroughly. "It isn't going to work," she said and Gabrielle looked confused.

Eve exhaled slowly and stared at her mother, "I want...Samuel," she pleaded, breathing heavily and Xena dried off her hands staring at her daughter. "Please!" she begged and Xena threw down the cloth on the bed and walked over to the door.

She opened the door and found Samuel sleeping in a chair. She kicked his leg and he was startled, jumping in the seat. "Wake up," Xena said and he blinked up at her. "You're wanted."

He stood up smiling, "really?" he asked and Xena lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Get in there before I change my mind," she said and he nodded, brushing passed her. She rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her, coming back into the room.

Samuel walked over to the bed and smiled down at Eve. She grinned up at him and he kissed her sweaty forehead, gripping her hand. "How are you?" he asked and she winced and he frowned seeing her in a lot of pain. Gabrielle scooted closer to her and pulled Eve's hair back behind her on the pillows.

Xena tapped Samuel's shoulder and he turned around. "You can sit there," she pointed to the chair next to the bed. He smiled and sat in the chair, still holding Eve's hand. Obviously, the king couldn't wipe that smile off his face and Xena sighed, sitting on the bed beside her daughter. "Alright Eve," she grinned mischievously and rolled her sleeves up, spreading Eve's legs apart.

Samuel's eyes widened and he heard Eve scream loudly and felt the bones in his hand cracking and popping. He was too busy, focusing on Xena he didn't even realize his wife's tight grip.

* * *

Three hours later Solan sat with the twins in their room and so far they had played three games of chess and he let Layla win one round and Luca another. Their skills were nothing compared to Eve's when she was their age, but they would learn, he thought.

Luca laid out on the floor staring at the ceiling. "What is taking so long?!" he griped and Solan chuckled. "It's dark outside!" he said and Layla crawled over to sit on her uncle's lap.

"Babies take a long time, sorry," Solan said and Luca sighed dramatically, rolling over on his stomach, toying with the King chess piece, completely bored. "You guys took two days to get here!"

Layla's eyes widened, "wow that's a long time," she admitted quietly. "Babies take their time," she said and Solan held in his laughter, though Layla was being completely serious.

"Hey, why don't we go take a walk outside?" Solan suggested and both of them smiled, getting off the floor running to the door. "Wait for me!" he said and grunted, running after them. He quickly grabbed their cloaks and ran to catch up to them. For such little creatures, they sure could run very fast. He hated chasing children and it reminded him of Eve when she was little.

* * *

Meanwhile, Xena sat in front of Eve, super concentrated and Samuel waited patiently in the chair beside the bed, holding Eve's hand. Xena's face broke out in a smile, "Samuel, come here," she said and he was reluctant.

He stood up, still holding Eve's hand and peered over next to Xena. His eyes widened, "dear God in heaven..." he muttered, seeing a lot of blood all over Xena's arms and on the sheets as well. He turned away and Xena grabbed his arm, pulling him closer.

"Stop being such a chicken," Xena teased and Eve groaned with the cloth in her mouth, holding onto Gabrielle's hand. Samuel looked down and finally, Xena held the baby in her arms and he smiled widely, staring at the small infant. Xena cleaned off the crying infant and wrapped him in a soft blanket. She looked up at Samuel's shocked face. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked.

Samuel blinked, "a boy?" he smiled and she gently handed him the baby and he carefully held the baby in his arms. Xena cleaned off her arms and looked over to Gabrielle with a smug grin on her face. He leaned over the bed and Eve sighed heavily. "Look, Eve!" he grinned and sat on the bed close to her. She grinned and sat up, leaning on the pillows.

He handed her the baby and Eve smiled down, looking at her son in her arms. She touched his head and frowned, "he has blonde hair," she said and Xena chuckled under her breath.

"I'm sure Solan will be happy to hear that," she said and got up off the bed, Gabrielle following her. She sighed and washed her arms in the water basin. "Thank the gods that is over," she teased.

Gabrielle grinned, "whatever Xena, you enjoyed it," she nudged her with her elbow.

* * *

A half hour later Solan walked inside the palace with the children walking beside him. They were not tired apparently but he was and these two were exhausting. He saw his mother and Gabrielle talking quietly outside the door and he smiled.

Xena turned and saw the children both yawning, quite tired. They approached her and she knelt down in front of the children. "Would you two like to see your mother now?"

Their eyes immediately lit up and weren't tired anymore. "Yeah!" both said and Xena put her finger to her mouth and they shut their mouths.

"You have to be really quiet, can you two do that?" she whispered and they nodded their heads excitedly.

Gabrielle grabbed both of their hands and went inside the room. They could barely contain their excitement and Xena sighed heavily. Solan smirked at her. "What?" she asked.

"So, tell me! Is it a boy or a girl?" he was eager to know.

She raised an eyebrow, "a boy," she said and he smiled brightly. "And he has blonde hair."

"Alright, finally!" he grinned and she rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

* * *

Gabrielle entered the room with the two anxious children, "I brought some visitors," she said and Eve smiled. Luca and Layla ran to the bed and climbed on top, crawling over to their mother.

Luca leaned in and saw the small baby in his mother's arms sleeping soundly. "Wow, it's so small!" he whispered and Samuel smirked.

"You two have a brother," Samuel said and Layla's eyes lit up and Luca smiled.

"I knew it was a boy!" the boy said and cuddled close to his mother. "What's his name?" he whispered.

Eve stared down at her son and smiled, "his name is Adam."

Layla crawled closer on the other side of Eve and looked at the small baby. "Adam," she repeated, "he's so cute," she grinned. She touched her baby brother's soft hair and couldn't stop staring at him, fascinated with him. "Hi," she whispered and Eve chuckled softly.

Gabrielle left the room leaving them alone for awhile. She came outside and saw Solan standing by the door and looked down to see Xena passed out in the chair. She covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. "wow," she couldn't believe it.

Solan nodded, folding his arms, "she's exhausted," he whispered.

"I see that," Gabrielle said and waved her hand over Xena's eyes but she was dead. "Yeah, she's gone."

Solan smiled and lifted his mother in his arms effortlessly. Xena's arm became limp and she lolled her head back. He walked to the guest room she stayed in and Gabrielle walked beside him. "She's going to kill you once she finds out you carried her to her room."

He shrugged, "she'll get over it," he joked.


End file.
